Five investors vying for 100% stake in PT Peni

Five investors are competing to acquire a 100 percent ownership in PT Petrokimia Nusantara Interindo (Peni), a local petrochemical giant controlled by Anglo-American energy giant BP, the Bisnis Indonesia daily reported on Tuesday.

The paper quoted a source as saying that the five investors included prominent local business groups such as Salim Group, Medco Group, Gunadharma and businessman Prajogo Pangestu. The other bidder is a trading company from South Korea. The paper did not name the company.

The paper said that the contenders would joint a due diligence process between December and January, so that a new investor would enter Peni by March next year.

Peni is the country?s largest producer of polyethylene with annual production capacity of 450,000 tons. The company is 75 percent owned by BP, with the remaining shares owned by Mitsui and Sumitomo.

Meanwhile, Prajogo Pangestu declined to comment on the news, while Medco chairman Hilmi Panigoro said the group had no plan to make such an acquisition.

Gunadharma, however, confirmed that his company was interested to acquire ownership in Peni.(*)