Which iPhone Distributor is TiPhone Looking to Acquire??

This past week, much of the discussion in the local tech scene had been about the expansion of Tiphone (TELE) which, following its IPO, plans to acquire 3 companies. Of the three companies, there is heavy speculation on its plans to acquire an Apple product distributor. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2012, pending the completion of the financial auditor’s report, but the company’s name remains secret. TELE, owned by flamboyant businessman Hengky Setiawan, will spend between US$10 million to US$40 million for this acquisition.

Many people are saying that perhaps the biggest distributor that is said to be acquired is iBox which indeed is the largest Apple Premium Reseller in Indonesia today (actually it's not - Ed). Nevertheless, without any insider information, I would say (and speculate) that the one that will be acquired is not iBox. Why would I say that?

I try to pay attention to a couple of media carrying stories about this. From the information I gathered from Kontan, The Jakarta Post and even The China Post (from Taiwan), the three contain information that TELE will acquire “the largest iPhone distributor” and not “the largest retailer of Apple products”. Assuming that this is originally quoted from Hengky, I tried to do a little experiment using these keywords on the internet.

Voila, thankfully there is some who dare to appear in the media and put forward the claim. Of the many iPhone distributors – not Apple products distributor – only one claims itself as the largest iPhone distributor in Indonesia, namely PT. Sinar Eka Selaras (PT. SES). PT. SES is a part of Erajaya Group that specializes in distributing gadgets such as iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, Dell Streak, Dell Venue and Acer Iconia Tab. PT. SES is XL Axiata’s partner in distributing iPhone 4S.

As quoted from Okezone, here is what Lisa Widyawati, Head of Sales and Marketing PT Sinar Eka Selaras (SES), says:

SES itself, according to Lisa, can be regarded as the largest official iPhone distributor in Indonesia. According to Lisa, this subsidiary of Erajaya Group has managed to supply about 60 percent of all iPhones released officially to the market.

Well, is PT SES worth US$40 million just like the acquisition target proclaimed by TELE? I honestly don’t know and do not understand if this acquisition target is PT SES only or also includes Erafone and a couple of other Erajaya members. PT SES has distributed its products to many partners in Indonesia, the list can be found here.

Then why is TELE interested in acquiring an Apple product distributor? The next hint is from Hengky who’s hoping that the acquired company will get a license in distributing iPads (the new one), indicating that iOS products have big profit potential in Indonesia. This has lead to major players in this field like TELE willing to offer high valuations.

Is this information 100% correct? I did say from the start that this analysis could be valid or could be entirely wrong. But at least I’ve expressed my opinion about this. At least, I believe that the one that will be acquired is actually an iPhone distributor and not an Apple products distributor/retailer. Let's wait until TELE reveals which company is acquired.

Following the Indonesian version of this story, I received a confirmation from people close to iBox that the company has fielded no acquisition offers from anyone. Additionally, Aside from PT SES, another Indonesian iPhone distributor is PT Mitra Telekomunikasis Seluler (MTS). MTS is the supplier for Telkomsel's iPhones. In the larger scheme of things however, SES is still a larger company than MTS.