AirAsia Plans Backdoor Listing for Indonesia AirAsia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia Bhd. (5099.KU) is planning a debt and share swap deal to inject 57.25% of PT Indonesia AirAsia into PT Rimau Multi Putra Pratama, according to a local stock exchange filing on Tuesday.

The deal would lead to a back-door listing of its Indonesia AirAsia on the Jakarta Stock Exchange. Rimau Multi is a logistics and warehousing company listed in Indonesia.

The proposed deal is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2017, according to AirAsia's filing.

Rimau Multi will then be the new holding company of Indonesia AirAsia, according to the filing.

AirAsia said it has executed multiple agreements to partially dispose and subsequently convert its perpetual securities investments in Indonesia AirAsia into new shares in Rimau Multi.

At present, AirAsia has a 49% stake in Indonesia AirAsia, while the remaining majority stake belongs to PT Fersindo Nusaperkasa owing to a foreign ownership cap on Indonesian airlines.

From the exercise, AirAsia via its unit AirAsia Investment Ltd and Fersindo will own up to 48% and 49.96% equity interest in Rimau Multi respectively.

AirAsia Investment and Fersindo will subscribe for the remaining unsubscribed rights shares offered in the rights Issue by Rimau Multi after allotment for an amount up to 10.4 trillion rights issue shares in exchange for Indonesia AirAsia perpetual securities with a nominal value of 2.6 trillion rupiah.

After the rights issue, the Indonesia AirAsia perpetual securities will be converted into up to 241,067 new shares in Indonesia AirAsia amounting to 57.25% equity interest in the company.

In a separate filing, AirAsia also announced a plan to establish a holding company under which its airline operation in Malaysia and others regional affiliates will be housed under its control.

The proposed structure will see the transfer of its associate companies held under AirAsia Investment to new holding company called AirAsia Group Bhd., where upon completion AirAsia Investment may be liquidated.

Write to Yantoultra Ngui at yantoultra.ngui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 29, 2017 21:47 ET (01:47 GMT)