Halcyon Agri acquires crumb rubber factory in Bintan

NATURAL rubber supplier Halcyon Agri is buying yet another crumb rubber factory in Indonesia, this time in Bintan.

The group said on Friday that its Indonesian subsidiary PT Hok Tong has entered into a conditional share sale-and-purchase agreement with Global Key Holdings Limited (GKHL) and Lydia Yuliaty Tandi to buy an 80 per cent stake in PT Pulau Bintan Djaya (PBD).

The purchase consideration was not disclosed, but the 80 per cent stake has a net asset value of about US$0.6 million as at Dec 31 last year.

PBD, founded in 1967, produces Standard Indonesian Rubber. It has a licenced capacity of 60,000 tonnes a year and is an approved supplier to major tyre companies including Goodyear, Bridgestone, Cooper Tires and Michelin.

Under the agreement, Hok Tong has also agreed to grant to GKHL an irrevocable put option for two years. The option will require Hok Tong to acquire the remaining 20 per cent stake in PBD on the same terms and conditions as the sale and purchase of the 80 per cent stake.

This move came just a day after Halcyon announced that it was buying four Indonesian crumb rubber factories in West Kalimantan, Indonesia for S$105.3 million in cash.

That acquisition will increase the scale and scope of Halcyon Agri's natural rubber processing segment, and propel it to be the largest crumb rubber producer and exporter in Indonesia, with a total processing capacity of 1.55 million tonnes per year, the firm said.