Carlyle close to acquiring minority stake in Indonesia’s GarudaFood for $200 mn
13 Jun 2011
US-based private equity firm Carlyle Group is close to acquiring a 25-per cent stake in Indonesian food maker GarudaFood for about $200 million.
According to a Sunday Reuters report, which cited sources with direct knowledge of the plan, other bidders in the race include rival private equity firm 3i Group Plc and Unitas Capital, but only Carlyle and Japanese beverage firm Suntory made it to the final bidding.
The deal, which would be Carlyle's first direct investment in south-east Asia, values Jakarta-based GarudaFood at about $800 million, the agency said.
GarudaFood, which is run by the Darmo Putro family-owned Tudong Group, makes branded snacks including peanuts, crisps and chocolate.
Tudung is looking to unlock the value of GarudaFood before it goes public and had hired Barclays Capital to handle the sale.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy was among the ''next eleven'' countries chosen by US-based investment firm Goldman Sachs as potential economic powerhouses of the next century, alongside the existing BRIC giants.