A proposal by wealthy Indonesian family the Bakries to sell its
stake in Bumi PLC (BUMI.LN) is in doubt, according to a report in
the Financial Times late Friday.
The London-listed miner will require 75% shareholder approval of
the Bakrie proposal, the report said. This can't be sought until
the conclusion of an investigation into alleged financial
irregularities at subsidiaries controlled by the Indonesian family,
it adds.
Bumi said Friday there will be an independent financial
evaluation of the Bakrie proposal. If this is favourable, the board
would call an emergency meeting to approve the deal, which could be
held in November.
The Bakries have offered to pay cash and exchange their 23.8%
Bumi stake for the Indonesian coal assets they sold to Bumi in
2011, thereby ending relations with the miner after they frayed
this past year.
The deal would be worth around $1.2 billion according to
analysts and would bring an end to a tumultuous period for both
Bumi and the Bakrie family. Bumi's shares have fallen more than 70%
since the beginning of the year thanks in part to
corporate-governance concerns and a probe launched recently into
alleged financial and other irregularities that especially focus on
PT Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK), Indonesia's largest coal producer and
a jewel in the Bakrie family's crown.
The Bakrie family, through PT Bakrie & Brothers (BNBR.JK)
and Long Haul Holdings, has offered to cancel their 23.8% stake in
Bumi and pay an undisclosed amount in cash in exchange for Bumi's
29.2% stake PT Bumi Resources.
The Bakries also proposed paying cash within the next six months
to buy Bumi's 84.7% stake in PT Berau Coal Energy (BRAU.JK) and
asked that Nathaniel Rothschild and other founding shareholders
return 16.06 million in shares that had been issued to them as a
reward for closing the original Bakrie deal since the entire
investment was being unwound.
Full story:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e463f110-148b-11e2-aa93-00144feabdc0.html#axzz298y5n1js
Write to siequslot@dowjones.com