Reuters HeidelbergCement may sell Indocement stake

* May sell up to 14 pct in Indocement

* May sell more and cede control - one source

* Proceeds to help reduce debt

SINGAPORE/FRANKFURT, May 15 (Reuters) - German cement maker HeidelbergCement (HEIG.DE) may sell up to a 14 percent stake in Indonesian unit PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa (INTP.JK), worth around $270 million, to help pay down debt, sources familiar with the deal said.

HeidelbergCement, which owns 65 percent of Indocement, is laden with debt from the takeover of British rival Hanson, but might still want to retain 51 percent of Indonesia's second biggest cement maker, said the sources, who declined to be identified because no deal was yet public.

A source who has been advising potential buyers said HeidelbergCement would only sell a maximum of a 14 percent stake in Indocement, which would be worth around $270 million based on its current market capitalisation.

"I think they will try to hold on to the Indonesian assets as it offers higher growth potential compared to Australia," another source said.

HeidelbergCement is trying to persuade its lenders to move the maturity date of its bank debt of about 9 billion euros ($12.3 billion) to 2011, a person familiar with the negotiations told Reuters earlier this month. [ID:nL6431455]

Both HeidelbergCement and Indocement declined to comment.

However, another source with knowledge of the matter said the sale would not be limited to a 14 percent stake, suggesting HeidelbergCement could cede control of the company, though no final decision had yet been taken.

Indocement has annual capacity of 17.1 million tonnes in Indonesia, and posted 2008 net profit of 1.75 trillion rupiah ($168 million) on turnover of 9.78 trillion rupiah.

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, used 38 million tonnes of cement last year, up 11.5 percent on 2007.

Indocement used to be owned by local conglomerate Salim Group prior to the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, but the group gave up control to repay its debt. Salim still owns about 13 percent of Indocement.

On Thursday, HeidelbergCement secured a 2-month 600 million euro bridge loan, giving it time to overhaul its finances, and said it sold its Australian asphalt operation to Fulton Hogan for an undisclosed amount as it offloads businesses outside its core cement, concrete and gravel interests.

The Australian Financial Review newspaper has reported the cement maker was looking to sell its entire Australian business. [ID:nnSYD468584] ($1=.7338 Euro) ($1=10,420 Rupiah) (Reporting by Harry Suhartono in SINGAPORE, Philipp Halstrick in FRANKFURT, and Tyagita Silka from JAKARTA) (Editing by Neil Chatterjee & Ian Geoghegan)