Merukh?s Lebong Tandai sues Avocet Mining

PT Lebong Tandai, a subsidiary of Merukh Enterprises, has threatened to file lawsuit against Avocet Mining Plc to a local court for selling its assets already pledged to the company to other party, Investor Daily reported.

Thomas Kopong Mukin, a legal representative of Lebong Tandai, said that his client would ask the court to confiscate 80 percent of Avocet?s assets at PT Avocet Bolaang Mongondow and its 21 assets in other South Asian countries.

Thomas said that Lebong Tandai decided to sue Avocet Mining because it had sold 80 percent of its assets at Avocet Bolaang for US$200 million to another Indonesian company. The sale was a crime because it had earlier signed an agreement to sell its assets to Lebong Tandai.

During an extraordinary shareholder meeting in Singapore in April, last year, Avocet Mining agreed to sell 80 percent of its assets in Avocet Bolaang, and its 21 other assets in Southeast Asia including a gold mine in Penjom, Malaysia to Lebong Tandai for $250 million to Lebong Tandai. The sales and purchase agreement was later signed in June, 2010.

Lebong Tandai had recently named Bank Sarasin-Rabo Limited in Singapore to help it issue bonds worth about $500 million to finance the acquisition. In addition, Lebong had also signed an agreement to sell 20 percent of the assets to be acquired from Avocet Mining to International Mining Corp Pty for $600 million. (*)