Etisalat 'eyes $700m sale of Indonesia stake'

UAE telecom operator Etisalat plans to sell its entire 13.29 percent stake in Indonesia's No 3 phone firm PT XL Axiata, to raise between $600 and $700 million this year, sources said. Etisalat has been considering the sale for months after failing to expand its partnership with XL Axiata's major shareholder, Malaysia's Axiata Group, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. "Etisalat thinks it hasn't been treated well in this deal... the reality is that the relationship soured a bit with the new management of Axiata," said one of the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. "They have never been able to find a way to work together in four years." Etisalat has hired JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to handle the sale, which may launch via an equity placement, the sources said. Etisalat, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and XL Axiata declined to comment. Etisalat bought its XL Axiata stake in 2007 for $440 million as part of a strategy to expand in east Asia.