State-run telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) has decided to call off its plan to swap its stakes in its tower subsidiary PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel) for stakes in tower operator PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure. Telkom and Tower Bersama signed a conditional share exchange agreement in October 2014 under which Telkom was to initially exchange its 49 per cent stake in Mitratel for 5.7 per cent of Tower Bersama’s enlarged share capital. Upon the completion of the initial exchange, Telkom was to be granted an option to exchange its remaining 51 per cent stake in Mitratel for 8 per cent of shares in Tower Bersama. The state-run company would also have received up to Rp 1.73 trillion ($129.4 million) in cash from Tower Bersama if Mitratel reached certain milestones. The additional cash would have enabled Telkom to increase its stake in Tower Bersama to about 15 per cent. Telkom has a total of 23,000 towers, more than those of the largest independent tower company, PT Protelindo (a subsidiary of PT Sarana Menara Nusantara), which has 11,595. Telkom has a total of 18,000 Telkomsel towers and 5,000 Mitratel towers. Telkom is also raising up to Rp 12 trillion, which will be utilised mainly to develop its businesses and make acquisitions.
