Link Net considers stake sale in Indonesia fiber ops

JAKARTA: Indonesian Internet provider PT Link Net is considering selling a stake in its fiber business to raise as much as US$500mil to fund an expansion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The unit of Axiata Group Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest wireless carrier, is seeking an adviser to help with a potential sale, which could raise US$400mil to US$500mil, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

Considerations are preliminary and Link Net could decide against a deal, the people said.

A representative for Axiata said Link Net required capital to accelerate its “fiber build”. However, the representative didn’t provide details on the size of the potential fundraising.

“Amongst many sources of capital, inviting investors to partner with us in this growth opportunity is one such source,” the spokesperson said. Link Net declined to comment.

As part of a non-binding deal in December, Link Net agreed to transfer its fixed broadband business to Indonesian mobile operator PT XL Axiata.

Link Net has a market value of about 3.5 trillion rupiah (US$224mil). Its share price has fallen 43% over the past 12 months. XL Axiata is up 0.4% over the same period and Axiata Group dropped 16%. — Bloomberg