Where do these ING Barings bankers find the time? Fresh from winning the first FIG advisory mandate in Taiwan, the M&A team has been appointed as adviser on what could prove to be one of the most interesting deals to come out of Indonesia.
Indofood has agreed to a call option to buy 30% of Golden Agri-Resources for $0.15 cents a share. If its due diligence proves positive it will exercise the option and $97.6 million for the company – which is one of the largest oil palm plantations in the world, and is based in Indonesia.
By exercising the option, it will trigger a general offer under Singapore law. Golden Agri-Resources is Singapore-listed. If all shareholders tendered their shares, this would cost Indofood, $326 million.
But why is this so interesting? Well, Golden Agri-Resources is 55% owned by Asia Food & Properties, which is in turn owned by Sinar Mas. Sinar Mas is, of course, controlled by the Widjaya family which also controls the beleaguered APP, which is currently trying to restructure its enormous debt pile. Indofood is, of course, 48% owned by First Pacific, which is the vehicle of the Salim family.
The deal thus represents an M&A transaction between two of Indonesia’s most high profile families – but done in Singapore, not Indonesia, thanks to the fact that that’s where the company is listed.
ING Barings is adviser on the transaction, which is no surprise since it is the closest investment bank to First Pacific. Earlier this year it sold the group’s 19.8% stake in Savills PLC of the UK. The Dutch bank also recently hired David Eastlake to take a senior role in its M&A division. Eastlake was a main board director of First Pacific, where he ran its treasury division.
