Shareholders of Indonesia’s largest coal miner PT Bumi Resources on Tuesday approved a share sale plan worth $1.6 billion to companies controlled by billionaire Anthoni Salim, aimed at helping the miner repay longstanding debt.
Bumi would issue a maximum 200 billion new shares, 85% of which are to be bought by Hong Kong-based Mach Energy Ltd while Treasure Global Investments Ltd (TGIL) would subscribe to the remaining 15% under the planned sale.
Mach Energy is jointly controlled by conglomerates Bakrie Group and Salim Group, while 85% of TGIL is controlled by Salim, according to a prospectus released prior to the shareholders’ meeting.
Dileep Srivastava, a Bumi director, told reporters after the shareholders’ meeting the plan was approved “almost unanimously”.
“The utilisation of those proceeds is to repay in full existing debt. So the company should be as good as debt-free,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting.
Bumi went through a court-led debt restructuring process in 2016 and its outstanding debt from the restructuring is estimated at roughly $1.5 billion currently, according to the prospectus.
After the sale, the new investors will gain a combined stake of around 58% of Bumi Resources. More than 70% of the miner’s shares are currently held by public shareholders.
Dileep said Bumi would be jointly controlled by Salim and the Bakrie Group – which is led by another Indonesian tycoon, Aburizal Bakrie – after the share sale.
“We can then focus on strengthening our coal business and then look at the non-coal side,” he said, adding that the company continues to look into developing a coal gasification plant and examining investment potential in other minerals and renewable energy.
Reuters