| To : Business Editor | 19th May 2000 For immediate release |
Cycle & Carriage Limited
Purchase of Additional Shares in P.T. Astra International Tbk
The following press release was issued today by the Company's 25%-owned associate, Cycle & Carriage.
For further information, please contact:
| Forrest International Limited | Tel: (852) 2522 6475 (office) |
| Sue Gourlay | (852) 2501 7936 (direct) |
Cycle & Carriage Limited
Purchase of Additional Shares in P.T. Astra International Tbk
Cycle & Carriage Limited ("CCL") is pleased to announce that it has on 17th May 2000 entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Eurasie S.A.S. ("Eurasie"), of the Lazard Asia Fund to purchase Eurasie's stake of 103,611,112 shares in P.T. Astra International Tbk ("Astra International") for a total consideration of US$50 million (the "Additional Shares"). The Additional Shares represents 3.9% of the fully diluted share capital of Astra International, and the purchase price will be funded by CCL's internal resources and an existing long term borrowing facility. The sale and purchase agreement was entered into pursuant to the right of first refusal granted under the shareholders' agreement amongst the Cycle & Carriage consortium which succeeded in its bid to acquire 1,019,880,060 shares in Astra International from the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency in March 2000.
Prior to the acquisition of the Additional Shares, CCL owned 23.3% of the fully-diluted share capital of Astra International (the "Original Shares"). CCL believes that Astra International will benefit from the recovery of the economy and maintain its dominant position in the Indonesian automobile market. The Additional Shares underline CCL's commitment to its strategy to expand in the Southeast Asian automotive sector, as well as to diversify its earnings base with Astra International's non-automotive business. This will allow it to further strengthen its ties with the company and provide the opportunity for CCL to add value to its investment.
Had the transaction taken place in 1999 and assuming the acquisition of the Original Shares had been completed, CCL's consolidated net tangible assets per share would have been reduced by about 30 cents to $3.10. On the same basis, CCL's consolidated earnings per share after exceptional and extraordinary items would have increased by 3.8 cents to 75.5 cents and the gearing of the CCL Group increased to about 64%. The figures are based on the audited accounts of Astra International for the year ended 31st December 1999 which were boosted by the change in treatment of foreign exchange differences on non-current assets and liabilities.
None of the substantial shareholders or directors of CCL have any interest, direct or indirect, in the Acquisition.
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