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Freshfields advises CK Hutchison on Indonesia’s largest cross border merger
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (‘CKHH’) on the landmark US$6bn merger of its Indonesian telecommunications business, Hutchison 3 Indonesia with Indosat Tbk, a subsidiary of Ooredoo Group. The merger will be the country’s largest inbound foreign merger and will bring together two highly complementary businesses to create a larger, commercially stronger and more competitive world-class digital telecoms and internet company. The merged entity, to be named Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, will be the second largest mobile telecoms company in Indonesia, with an annual revenue of about US$3bn. The transaction is the second largest M&A deal in Indonesia’s history.
Ooredoo currently has a controlling 65 per cent shareholding in Indosat held through Ooredoo Asia. As part of the deal, CKHH will acquire a 50 per cent shareholding in Ooredoo Asia. Ooredoo will remain the other 50 per cent shareholder. The merged entity, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, will remain listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange, with the Government of Indonesia retaining a 9.6 per cent stake. Closing is subject to regulatory approvals.
The Freshfields team leading this transaction comprised partner and global co-head of M&A Robert Ashworth, senior associate Carmen Lee and associates Daria Park and Frank Jin. Additional support was provided by partner Philip Morgan, associate Shavonne Oh and trainees Gregory King and Jiahui Wu. Tax advice was provided by partner Jill Gatehouse, senior associates Christopher Gotch and Sam Withnall and associates Yuen Yuen Tan, Alex Cheetham and Emily Jelly. Antitrust advice was provided by partners Alastair Mordaunt and Thomas Wessely and associates Nicholas Quah, Amaryllis Müller, Amelia Coe and Charles Tay. Finance advice was provided by partner Daniel French and senior associate Don Methven. Specialist IP / IT advice was provided by partner Richard Bird and associate Jingyi Chiew. Dispute resolution support was provided by partner Nick Lingard and senior associate Samantha Tan. Additional support on the due diligence process was provided by associates Christopher Chan, Francesca Triggs, Samuel Sun and Tyson Thompson and trainees Charmaine Ho, George Ho, Janis Lee, Lola Wu, Vanessa Ho and Ziqi Zhou.
