Axiata Group and its Indonesian arm XL bought a 66.03% stake in broadband and TV provider Link Net for IDR8.7 trillion (US$114 million), a move to leverage the company’s expertise to penetrate the underserved areas.
After completion of the acquisition, Axiata will hold 46.03% and XL will be in possession of 20% of Link Net, which in total will be 58.33% held by the telecoms group.
Depending on regulatory approval the company will be obligated to make a mandatory offer for the remaining 33.97% stake in Link Net, which it expects to pass and completed by Q3 this year.
Link Net’s network covers several populated cities in Indonesia including Greater Jakarta, Sumatera Island, West Java, Central Java, East Java, and Bali.
The network reaches 2.9 million homes and its enterprise offerings service 2,400 firms, which includes government, financial services, and large multinational corporate institutions, as well as digital businesses.
In a statement, Axiata detailed it will combine the wireless communications expertise of Link Net and XL, such as their respective infrastructure and relationships with customers in Indonesia.
XL possess expertise in B2B which will be used to boost Link Net’s own offering in the segment.
Axiata joint Acting Group CEOs Dr Hans Wijayasuriya and Vivek Sood said: “The well experienced and accomplished team at Link Net will be accelerating the company’s growth opportunities within existing as well as under-served areas.”
Link Net president, director and CEO Marlo Budiman added: “Indonesia’s high speed broadband market remains deeply underpenetrated and the ability to provide a wider and more comprehensive product offering will contribute to future growth and benefit all our stakeholders.
