Bumi seeking loans to takeover Herald Resources

Indonesian stock exchange listed mining house PT Bumi Resources is seeking for bank loans up to US$375 million or about Rp 3.5 trillion to take over Australian mining company Herald Resources Limited.

The company's president director Ari S. Hudaya said in Jakarta Monday that Bumi's Singaporean subsidiary Calipso Investment Pte. Ltd would team up with Credit Suisse to raise the bank loans to finance the acquisition plan.

"If the amount of the loans is not enough, we will also use our internal funds to finance the acquisition," he said, adding that the company's internal funds were expected to reach $120 million at the end of this month.

Bumi is expected to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Jan. 29 to seek approval for the acquisition plan.

Herald, which has advised its shareholders not to take any action yet, in late December said it had received approaches from a number of parties since Bumi launched its A$2.25 a share offer on Dec. 12.

Herald, together with its 20 percent partner state-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, is planning to develop Dairi zinc/lead project to process 1 million tons of ore per annum and to produce between 220,000 and 100,000 tons of zinc and lead concentrates annually.(*)