Bakrie Acquires Local 4G Operator, Aims to Enter National 4G Market

Imagining a Bakrie 4G smartphone… (pictured is the HTC Evo 4G).

Bakrie Group has announced the acquisition of PT Reka Jasa Akses (REJA) through its investment company PT Capital Managers Asia. Judging from this, it’s clear that Bakrie aims to enter the national 4Gmobile internet market in the near future.

The company has acquired REJA for US$12.5 million after seven months of negotiations. Bakrie Telecom president, Anindya Bakrie, said the company had allocated US$50 million for the acquisition. Only a small portion (25 percent) has been used to acquire REJA, while the rest of the fund (US$37.5 million) will be used to develop the company.

REJA is small 4G operator company with 630 customers for its 4G packages. However, the nationwide license it has is a great advantage for Bakrie Telecom. After this acquisition, Bakrie will have additional bandwidth to expand its mobile data service business throughout the country. As Anindya Bakrie said confidently, the company will become a 4G operator providing broadband services for corporations, SMEs, home internet usage, and any other telco company.

This is a bold move for Bakrie. Last year, the company’s investment in data services recorded a net loss of Rp179,7 billion (approximately US$21 million). And this situation will likely continue until at least 2013 when its data service business might become profitable.

However, it is also a strategic move which coincides with the company’s ambition to realize Bakrie Telecom, Media and Technology Vision in 2015. In other words, the company is squaring up to compete with Telkom, who launched a similar vision a few years earlier.

[Source: Kontan, Kompas]