Freeport fails to hold extraordinary shareholders meeting

PT Freeport Indonesia?s plan to hold an extraordinary shareholders? meeting to seek approval to the planned merger of the gold and copper giant with its subsidiary PT Indocopper Investama had been cancelled, Koran Tempo reported on Friday.

?There was no such a meeting,? the spokesman for Freeport Indonesia, Sidharta Moersjid said when he was asked by the daily?s reporter about the extraordinary meeting. Sidharta said that the meeting would be held only after all parties approved the merger plan.

It was reported earlier that Freeport planned to hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, April 13 to seek for shareholders approval to a propose merger with Indocopper.

Roes Aryawijaya, the deputy of the state minister for state owned enterprises Roes Aryawijaya said that he had not been informed about the cancellation of the extraordinary meeting.

He, however, acknowledged that there was a meeting between Freeport?s shareholders on Tuesday to discuss the merger plan. ?But it was not an extraordinary meeting,? he said.

Unlike Roes, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the Tuesday meeting was an extraordinary meeting of the shareholders. But Roes said, ?Pak Purnomo did not know (the agenda).?

Freeport planned to merge with Indocopper in order to improve efficiency within the company?s operation. Both Freeport and Indocopper are owned by the United States-based Freeport McMoRan.

At present Freeport is owned by Freeport McMoRan (81.28%), the Indonesian government (9.36 percent) and Indocopper (9.36 percent). After the merger, the share ownership composition will changes with Freeport McMoRan owning 90.64 percent and the Indonesian government (9.36 percent).

The merger plans, however, still needs approval from the minister of energy and mineral resources. (*)