Indonesia's XL Cancels Towers Sale

Indonesian operator, PT Excelcomindo Pratama (XL) has cancelled plans to sell its portfolio of 7,000 towers and will use tap its shareholders in a rights issue to raise funds for its network expansion. The company said in a filing with the local stock exchange that the interested bidders were not willing to pay an acceptable price for the towers.

XL Corporate Secretary Ike Andriani said;" The cancellation decision was taken after the offered prices did not reach the expected levels because it's hard for potential investors to obtain financing under the current circumstances."

Two investment firms, Saratoga Capital and Recapital had been previously reported to be interested in buying the tower assets.

The company started a tender for the towers early last year, and six firms had been shortlisted for the bidding process.

The company spent US$1.2 billion last year on its network - funded from cash flow, bank loans, and bond issues. The company had been looking to raise $675 million from the sale of the towers, and expects to spend roughly the same amount this year on its network CAPEX.

The mobile network operator is 84% owned by Telecom Malaysia, with the remainder held by Etisalat, and a tiny amount floated on the stock market.

 

Posted to the site on 12th February 2009