Kaesang Pangarep, the youngest son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, bought a stake in a football team in his hometown, Solo, where his older brother is the city mayor after winning local elections last year, Detik.com reported Saturday.
Kaesang, as he is popularly known, bought a 40% stake in PT Persis Solo Saestu, Detik said, citing a shareholders’ meeting of the club held in the Central Java city over the weekend, where he was named the chief executive officer. State Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, who is also a businessman and a former shareholder of Football Club Internazionale Milano, or Inter Milan, bought a 20% stake in Persis, according to the report.
The 26-year-old entrepreneur and blogger is popular among his 2.2 million Twitter followers. He is also known to regularly shares stock picks that triggered moves in the market. Bali United, managed by PT Bali Bintang Sejahtera, is the only football team listed on the Indonesian stock market, with a market capitalization of 1.8 trillion rupiah ($125 million). The stock has gained almost 93% this year.
Kaesang wants Persis to move into the first league in Indonesia’s national football championship, according to his remarks at the meeting that was broadcast on YouTube. Solo Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the president’s first son, said at the same event that he expects Thohir would be able to bring in professional and transparent management to the football club.
In an emailed press release that confirmed Thohir’s purchase of the Persis stake, the minister said he and another Indonesian businessman Anindya Bakrie also plan to close another deal that will see both holding a 51% ownership in British football club Oxford United, by acquiring the stake from Thai businessman Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth.
