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PT Bakrie & Brothers, the flagship holding company of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, announced on Monday that it will create at least two new subsidiaries as part of a drive to transform itself into a global investment company.

Chief among the plans is the creation of a private-equity investment fund that will be set up in partnership with Northstar Pacific Partners, the local affiliate of US private-equity giant Texas Pacific Group.

Bobby Gafur S Umar, Bakrie’s managing director, said the Bakrie group would also work to launch other new funds aimed at foreign investors. He said he expected the plans for the Northstar joint fund to be finalized by January.

Eddy Soeparno, Bakrie & Brothers’ chief financial officer, said, “We will not only invest in companies but also in debt markets and even distressed assets.”

Michael Lucente, Bakrie & Brothers’ chief investment officer, said the group would also look at opportunities in multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects, such as power plants and telecommunications.

Bobby said the new investment fund with Northstar was unrelated to the Bakrie group’s debt-restructuring scheme involving Northstar. The Bakrie group said on Monday that it had restructured Rp 4.26 trillion ($451 million) in debt to Northstar in April, after saying in January that it would issue convertible bonds in that amount to Northstar.

The bonds were never issued. They were intended to replace part of the company’s $575 million debt to Northstar after Northstar took on the Bakrie group’s debt in that amount to Odickson Finance in November 2008.

“We’ve already restructured the Rp 4.26 trillion Northstar loan up to 2012, while Northstar has already forced some sales of stock from the $575 million debt to the market,” said.

Lucente said the group would continue to divest its non-core assets, such as subsidiaries PT Bakrie Metal Industries and PT Bakrie Indo Infrastructure. “We are going to seek partners for these businesses and will also consider IPOs,” he said.

Separately, the Bakrie group also revealed that it is looking to raise at least $444 million to pay off Rp 1.5 trillion in short-term debt and generate additional funds to invest in subsidiaries that plan to conduct rights issues next year.

“Short-term debt will be repaid and not restructured,” Eddy said. “As a part of the process, we will issue as much as $250 million in convertible bonds in the first quarter of 2010, while the rights issue funds will be raised through new loans.”

Bakrie’s oil and gas subsidiary, PT Energi Mega Persada, plans to conduct a rights issue next year to raise Rp 4.8 trillion.

The group’s plantation unit, PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations, intends to issue new shares worth at least $300 million next year.

Eddy said Bakrie will invest the funds necessary to maintain its existing stakes in Energi Mega (43.2 percent) and Sumatera Plantations (41.8 percent).

It would have to invest at least Rp 2.07 trillion in Energi Mega and $125 million in Sumatera Plantations.