Bangkok--Jun 1--PTT
PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), Government Pension Fund (GPF), Government Saving Bank (GSB) and Vayupak Mutual Fund One (VMF-1) together with other institutions have reached agreement and signed Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Thai Petrochemical Industry Public Company Limited (TPI) as issuer and Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (BBL) in its capacity as selling shareholders in the transaction of 17,550 million shares of TPI representing 90% of 19,500 million of outstanding shares of the company at THB 3.30 per share under the management by the Ministry of Finance as the agent empowered by the Central Bankruptcy Court under the Business Rehabilitation Plan. Under the SPA, PTT will acquire a 31.5% ownership interest in TPI through the purchase of a total of 6,142.5 million shares of TPI, equivalent to approximately THB 20,270 million (approximately US $520 million). Other co-investors including GPF, GSB and VMF-1 agree to purchase 10% interest in TPI each, and have formed a partnership with PTT for investment in TPI through a shareholders agreement to support PTT in management of TPI and subsidiaries in the future. PTT and the co-investors who will own a total shareholding of 61.5% in TPI upon the successful closing of the transaction will hold shares for a minimum period of 24 months to register the intention and commitment to a long-term investment in TPI.
According to the Rehabilitation Plan of TPI and subsidiaries, closing of the share transaction must be no later than November 4, 2005. All of the proceeds from the transaction, approximately THB 57,915 million (approximately US $1,448 million) at THB 3.30 per share, will be entirely used by TPI to repay the principal debts under the financial debt restructuring scheme.
Mr. Prasert Bunsumpun, President of PTT, revealed that PTT and the co-investors have been conducting confirmatory due diligence in detail of TPI’s operations, business plan and projected financials over the last 4 months. “We are quite comfortable with the fundamental of TPI’s business and operation, and quality of production facilities.”
TPI Group is one of Thailand’s largest petrochemical producers with integrated oil refinery, and upstream and downstream petrochemical operations. Since the crisis in 1997 TPI Group has been undergoing a historic rehabilitation program, which is expected to be resolved after this share transaction.
President of PTT also added, “Our goal is to strengthen TPI’s existing operations in post-restructuring through upgrading production facilities, maximizing operational efficiency and enhancing value of under-utilized assets. PTT can add significant value through our expertise in the industry such as strategic planning, optimization, risk management and so on, as well as through synergies in complementary businesses such as procurement of crude and feedstock, marketing and trading of refined oil and petrochemical products. PTT will also assume management responsibility of TPI to ensure a smooth and efficient operational transition, improve TPI’s competitive position, maintain high corporate governance standards and increase shareholder value. All in all, we believe that PTT and TPI can add value to each other and become strategic alliances going forward.”
Please also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section on our website or contact PTT’s Capital Market and Investor Relations Department at (66) 2537-2787-8 for further queries.
Corporate Public Relations Department
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