JAKARTA. PT Trans Retail, a unit of conglomerate CT Corp founded by local tycoon Chairul Tanjung, announced on Tuesday that it had reached a deal worth US$750 million to acquire a 60 percent stake in retailer PT Carrefour Indonesia, a subsidiary of French Carrefour SA.

The acquisition means Trans Retail now fully owns Carrefour Indonesia from previously 40 percent.

"We signed the sale and purchase agreement on Monday. We also have transferred the acquisition funds, which are bridging loans from 10 international banks, to Carrefour SA," Chairul said on Tuesday.

Trans Retail obtained loans from Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, J P Morgan Securities, ING Bank, ANZ, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ.

Following the acquisition, Carrefour's shops in Indonesia will remain using its brand with addition of "Trans".

"We have the right to use the brand for five years. We have decided to use double brand that is Trans Carrefour. As time goes by, the word 'Trans' will be bigger and 'Carrefour' will diminish," Chairul said.

Chairul said that he expected that under the full ownership of Trans Retail, Trans Carrefour would report 30 percent business growth annually on the back of the country's strong domestic demand. (Raras Cahyafitri/ The Jakarta Post)