Jakarta: 1 October 2014 – PT XL Axiata Tbk. (“XL”), the second largest mobile operator in Indonesia, announced today that it has signed an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) with PT Solusi Tunas Pratama Tbk. (“STP”), one of the leading tower company provider in Indonesia, which has been declared the winning bidder of the three (3) months tender process in connection with the sale by XL of 3,500 telecommunications towers, with a purchase price amount of IDR 5.6 Trillion. The transaction consideration will be all in cash with no stock or deferred component, to be made at closing.
Concurrent with the execution of the APA, XL and STP have also entered into a Master Tower Lease Agreement whereby XL has agreed to lease back from STP the towers sold in the transaction for a period of 10 years. XL has secured competitive terms as the anchor tenant on the towers and expects to benefit from ongoing capital expenditure and operational expenditure savings.
Commenting on the transaction, Hasnul Suhaimi, Chief Executive Officer of XL, said “The sale of the towers to STP is a positive step towards an asset light strategy thereby freeing up additional resources to enhance the focus on our core business and ensuring a superior customer experience. The sale unlocks the value of a part of our tower portfolio at an attractive valuation and on competitive terms. XL will be using the transaction proceeds to partially deleverage.”
Nobel Tanihaha, President Director of STP, added, “STP, through this largest tower transaction in Indonesia to date, is pleased to add a quality portfolio of tower assets with significant secured tenancies and additional lease up potential. This transaction solidifies STP’s position as a top three independent tower operator with a strong portfolio across Indonesia.”
Closing of the transaction is expected to occur by 31 December 2014.
XL has demonstrated a consistently strong track record of delivering on its strategic vision with (1) the successful acquisition and accelerated integration of Axis; and (2) sale of a portion of its tower portfolio to deliver on its commitment and move towards an asset light model.
XL continues to be committed towards improving its services and on investing in delivering more innovative products and data to its customer base.
XL currently serves over 62.9 million customers across the country.As one of the pioneers in the development of the Indonesian mobile telecommunication industry, XL has been the leader in providing affordable and easy‐to‐use mobile internet experience for all Indonesians.
Merrill Lynch (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (BofA Merrill Lynch) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to XL on this transaction, and Standard Chartered Bank and J.P. Morgan (S.E.A) Limited acted as financial advisors to STP.
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About PT XL Axiata Tbk.
PT XL AxiataTbk. is the second largest mobile operator in Indonesia. PT XL Axiata Tbk. is (66.5%) owned by Axiata Group Berhad through Axiata Investments (Indonesia) Sdn Bhd and public (33.5%), and is part of Axiata Group with Celcom (Malaysia), Robi (Bangladesh), Dialog (Sri Lanka), Smart (Cambodia), M1 (Singapore) and Idea (India). For more information on XL, please visit www.XL.co.id
For further information, please contact:
Turina Farouk
Vice President Communications XL Mobile: 628170108000
Email: TURINAF@xl.co.id