Global Mediacom’s controlling shareholder sold a $200 million block in the company late last week in an apparent bid to bolster his political ambitions.
The stake was offloaded by Winfly, a company that is described as being “beneficially connected with” Indonesian tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo, president director of Global Mediacom, who controls the company through a 51% stake owned by his investment firm, Bhakti Investama.
Tanoesoedibjo reportedly joined the newly established National Democratic Party earlier this year as chairman of the party’s advisory body, and has since been raising cash through a number of sales.
MNC Skyvision, an Indonesian pay-TV operator owned by Mediacom, raised $220 million from an initial public offering in June and, in March, Winfly raised $58 million from the sale of a 2% stake in MNC.
Tanoesoedibjo is also in the spotlight at the moment thanks to a tax case involving Bhakti Investama that is appearing before the corruption court in Jakarta. Tax consultant James Gunarjo was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison earlier this month in connection with a bribe allegedly paid on behalf of Bhakti Investama.
The Mediacom sale, which launched after trading hours on Thursday, was said to have attracted good demand from long-only accounts, prompting Winfly to upsize the deal from an initial $150 million.
Investors were clearly attracted by the opportunity to buy a stock that has risen more than 100% so far this year. However, most of the media group’s investor relations effort has been carried out through Mediacom’s subsidiary, Media Nusantara Citra (MNC) or through the newly listed MNC Skyvision.
“The stock is relatively liquid but not well known by institutional investors,” said one source.
The deal was marketed at a discount of 4.3% to 9.6% and ended up pricing at Rp2,150 for an 8.5% discount.
The stock traded down on Friday, closing at Rp2,250, which is not surprising given that the sale represented roughly 36 days of trading in the stock and 6.4% of the company’s market capitalisation.
The buyers were said to be mainly from Asia and the US, with a small amount of European participation. The shares were allocated to more than 50 accounts.
The trade was executed by CLSA, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley.
