Herbert Smith Freehills and Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung advise shareholders on sale of PT IBST stake

Leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills together with Indonesian associate firm Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung (HBT), advised a group of PT Inti Bangun Sejahtera Tbk (IBST) shareholders on the sale of a 90% stake in the company to PT iForte Solusi Infotek, a member of the Protelindo group.  

The sale closed in June for approximately US$211 million (3.42 trillion rupiah) following a competitive auction process.

IBST is a leading independent digital infrastructure platform listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. It manages a substantial portfolio of digital infrastructure assets across Indonesia, including over 3,000 towers and 17,000 km of fibre network. 

"It was a pleasure working with these shareholders on this significant tower and fibre transaction," said Herbert Smith Freehills corporate partner Malika Chandrasegaran. "We expect further strategic consolidation in the telecom infrastructure sectors across Asia Pacific as industry players look to maximise operational efficiencies in their investments."

This is the latest of several digital infrastructure deals and sell-side Indonesian public M&A on which the two firms have advised. Last year, the firms advised Indosat on the sale of 1,700 telecommunication tower assets and PT Dian Swastatika Sentosa on the sale and leaseback of 24 data centres.

The team was led by Malika and corporate partner Vik Tang together with Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung corporate partner Irfan Ghazali and senior associates Rebecca Ayuyantrie and Josua Hutauruk in Jakarta, and associate Jia De Yam in Singapore.  The team was supported by Herbert Smith Freehills partner Harry Evans and senior associate Mark Khouri in Singapore.