Indonesia's Bakrie Said to Be Selected as Buyer of Berau Coal
2009-11-03 05:24:37.263 GMT
By Cathy Chan
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's Bakrie family is likely to be
selected as buyer of PT Berau Coal, the country's fifth- largest coal
producer, two people familiar with the matter said.
PT Armadian Tritunggal is in advanced talks to sell 90 percent of
Berau Coal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the
discussions are private. Armadian is seeking about $1.3 billion for the
stake, one of the people said.
Berau Coal's profit may more than double this year to $180 million,
President Director Bob Kamandanu said last month.
Benchmark coal prices may average $80 a metric ton next year compared
with an estimated $70 ton this year, he said.
Coal producers in Indonesia, the world's largest exporter of
power-station coal, produced 72 million metric tons of the fuel in the
first six months of the year, or 31 percent of this year's output target
of 230 million tons.
Armadian is in talks with Recapital Advisors, backed by the Bakrie
family, about the Berau Coal stake, the people said. Handy Soetedjo,
director of Armadian, declined to comment. Lalu Mara Satria Wangsa, a
spokesman for the Bakrie family, didn't immediately respond to a phone
call seeking comment.
The Bakrie family's PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk is the biggest
shareholder of PT Bumi Resources, Indonesia's largest coal producer.
Bakrie & Brothers is an Indonesian investment company with businesses
ranging from steel pipe manufacturing to cement.
Kamandanu said in May the company hired bankers to review its
assets for a possible share sale. In an interview today, Kamandanu said
he couldn't comment on the status of bidding, adding that Armadian "is
trying to finalize all the details."
Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch & Co.
and PacBridge Capital Partners, run by former Merrill banker Sheldon
Trainor, were hired to review the company's assets, according to the
people. Officials at the investment banks declined to comment.
The stake sale comes as Berau Coal plans to reduce its capital
spending by 65 percent and delay a port expansion because of a decline
in the price of the fuel.
For Related News and Information:
Coal in Indonesia: TNI INDO COAL BN <Go> Top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
Coal prices: MCCS <Go> Most read Indonesian stories: MNI INDO 1W <GO>
Search for Indonesian stories: NSE INDONESIA <GO> Stories on Newmont in
Indonesia:
NEM US <Equity> TCNI INDO <GO>
--With assistance from Berni Moestafa in Jakarta. Editors: Jane Lee,
Philip Lagerkranser
To contact the reporters on this story:
Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at +852-2977-6629 or kcha...@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Philip Lagerkranser at +852-2977-6626 or lagerkran...@bloomberg.net
