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Matahari Putra Prima is planning to divest non-operational assets worth about Rp 3 trillion ($336 million), following an analysis conducted by Bank of America's Merrill Lynch, company officials said on Monday.

The retail company is considered as the largest home-grown department store in Indonesia.

"We have received several suggestions from Merrill Lynch to maximize the company's value," Hendra Sidin, MPP's director of finance, told reporters after the company's general shareholders' meeting in Jakarta. 

Hendra said that based on Merill Lynch's final recommendation, MPP should maintain its focus on the Matahari Food Business (MFB), do strategic partnerships with global retailers to strengthen operations for its Hypermart chain and divest its non-operational assets to increase shareholders' value. 

"They are like excess baggage that would slow down the company," said Danny Kojongian, MPP's director of corporate communication and investor relations.

He said that the company is still looking for potential buyers at the moment. "It does not mean that we are going to sell [everything] at once. We might sell it in parts," he said.

Separately, during the shareholders meeting of Multipolar, the holding company that owns 50.23 percent of MPP shares, managing director Harijono Suwarno told media that there has not been any decisions made yet on whether it would sell MPP or if there would be another form of partnership with other companies. However, he said that Multipolar supports Merrill Lynch's recommendation.

Matahari Putra Prima operates 51 hypermarkets, 25 supermarkets and 54 pharmacy stores in addition to 90 entertainment centers, 19 international bookstores and strategic alliances with 93 department stores in 50 cities nationwide.

Multipolar and the Jakarta Globe are affiliated with the Lippo Group.