Bumi set to control 100% of Herald shares

Bumi Resources, currently the largest shareholder of Herald Resources, plans to acquire the remaining shares of the West Perth-based mining company through a formal off-market takeover bid.

Bumi currently holds an 84.2 per cent stake in Herald through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Calipso Investment Pte Ltd.

Calipso offers A$0.70 for each of the remaining shares from the investing public. The price is 75 percent higher than the closing price on Aug. 20, or 80 percent higher than the average price last month.

Bumi's President Director Ari Hudaya said he believed the offer would be quite attractive for the Herald shareholders to sell their shares to the Indonesian company. He said that the offer would be formally offered within the next two weeks and would last for a month.

Bumi successfully acquired 84.2 percent of Herald shares in August, last year at $2.85 a share. Several companies such as Indonesia?s Aneka Tambang (Antam) and China-based Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfermet had also competed Bumi to acquire Herald which operates a zinc mine in Dairi, North Sumatra. (*)