Philip Morris Seeks More Than $1 Bln From Indonesia Stake Sale : WSJ

(RTTNews) - Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) plans to sell over $1 billion worth of shares in its Indonesian operation, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The report noted that Philip Morris has tapped investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG, J.P. Morgan and local firm Mandiri Sekuritas for the sale of shares in PT HM Sampoerna Tbk.

The sale will allow Philip Morris to comply with a pending stock-exchange rule requiring all Indonesia-listed companies to have at least 7.5% of their shares in public hands. Philip Morris currently owns 98.2% of the unit.

Last month, Philip Morris International announced that its subsidiary, PT HM Sampoerna Tbk. would explore options to comply with the Indonesian Stock Exchange's mandatory requirement of a minimum threshold for public shareholding.

On January 30, 2014, IDX introduced a regulation requiring all listed public companies to have at least 7.5% of their total paid up capital owned by the public by January 30, 2016.