"Both Bahana and Danareksa will weigh the various options for the planned merger and suggest an action plan for the state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina and state gas firm PGN," State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan noted at a press conference at his office here on Thursday.
The merger may be conducted in one or two stages, he added.
"If it is done in two stages, PGN will buy PT Pertagas (a subsidiary of Pertamina) in the first stage, and PGN will be bought by PT Pertamina in the second stage," he explained.
If the merger was conducted in one stage, Pertamina could directly buy PGN, he claimed.
He stated that if Pertamina bought PGN, the state gas firm would not be dissolved.
"PGN will continue to be the largest energy company in Indonesia," he added.
However, he declined to reveal when exactly Bahana and Danareksa will complete their study of the planned acquisition.
"We hope it will be done quickly. It is urgent because it is part of the governments efforts to move towards a modern Indonesia, wherein urban and rural households will no longer depend on LPG, as its distribution is not organized," he claimed.
The corporate action plan surfaced after Pertamina and PGN had bid to acquire one another.
On Sunday (Jan. 12), a number of national newspapers reported the summary of a meeting attended by Dahlan Iskan, the officials of the State Enterprises Ministry, and Pertaminas board of directors and commissioners.
According to the summary, the government has agreed to an option, which allows Pertamina to acquire PGN.
But, Dahlan denied the decision, saying the option was one of the three available ones. (BSR/S012)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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