Telkom Indonesia unit Mitratel weighs US$1b IPO

[JAKARTA] PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi, the infrastructure unit of state-owned PT Telkom Indonesia, is considering an initial public offering in Jakarta that could raise about US$1 billion, in what could be the country's biggest first-time share sale in more than a decade, people familiar with the matter said.

Dayamitra, also known as Mitratel, has asked for proposals on the potential offering and could pick advisers soon, said the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private.

Deliberations are at an early stage and details of the offering could still change, the people said.

"There is an IPO plan for Mitratel around end of the year, the preparation process is underway," Ririek Adriansyah, president director of Telkom Indonesia, said in a text message in response to a Bloomberg News query. There are no further details to share and the company will announce more in due time, he said.

At US$1 billion, Mitratel's potential IPO could be Indonesia's largest since PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur's US$696 million offering in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The telecommunications infrastructure firm would join gold miner PT Archi Indonesia, dairy firm Cimory Group and a state-owned geothermal merged entity in seeking a listing in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Mitratel manages more than 16,000 telecommunication towers throughout Indonesia, according to its website. All Indonesian cellular operators are its tenants and have placed their base transceiver station devices in the Mitratel towers.

BLOOMBERG