Carlyle in first Southeast Asia deal with Indonesia tower stake-sources

HONG KONG Oct 25 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group has signed its first ever investment in Southeast Asia, with a deal to buy a stake of around 25 percent in a publicly traded Indonesian telecom towers operator for about $100 million, sources with knowledge of the deal said.

The investment in PT Solusi Tunas Pratama TBK (STP) , Indonesia's No.4 towers operator, underlines a growing trend of global private equity funds setting their sights on investments into Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Indonesia's government does have restrictions on foreign ownership of tower assets, but sources said Carlyle was able to structure the transaction so that it complied with the rules.

Carlyle declined to comment. STP did not respond to calls or emails requesting comment. The sources declined to be identified as details of the deal have not been publicly announced.