PTBA signs restructuring agreement of JV unit
Saturday, April 18 2015 - 04:40 AM WIB
IDX-listed coal giant PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) said it has on April 6 signed a new agreement PT Rajawali Asia Resources (RAR) on the ownership restructuring of their joint venture coal mining firm PT Bukit Asam Banko (BAB).
PTBA said in a statement Friday that under the new agreement (a revision of a previous September 2014 agreement), RAR will sell its 3,368 shares, or equal to 34.99 percent stake in BAB to PTBA for Rp 250,000 per share, bringing the total transaction value to Rp 842 million.
Once the transaction is completed, PTBA will control almost all of BAB shares, while RAR, a unit of the well-diversified Rajawali Group, retains 0.01 percent stake in the coal mining firm, which operates a concession in Banko Tengah, Muara Enim, South Sumatra.
The restructuring of the ownership of BAB (a joint venture set up in 2008) must be made to meet the requirements set in the 2009 Mining Law and the ensuing implementing regulations, which stipulate that transfer of a mining right to a new entity can be made as long as the entity is wholly owned by the company that holds the original IUP mining business permit.
PTBA was the original holder of the IUP for the Banko Tengah concession. The company transferred the IUP to BAB as part of an agreement with RAR to form a new joint venture company called PT Transpacific Railway Infrastructure, which would build a 280 coal railway in South Sumatra. The planned railway will among others transport coal from Banko Tengah concession to the Tarahan Port in Lampung. Transpacific Railway is partly owned by China Railway Group Ltd.
The railway project has been delayed several times due to various obstacles including the issue of BAB ownership structure and financing aspect.
PTBA said that RAR can buy back its 34.99 percent shares in BAB for US$49 million after the financial closing of the railway project. The deadline for the financial closing is September 8, 2016.
If the Transpacific fails to reach financial closing, PTBA is entitled to purchase the remaining 0.01 percent stake in BAB from RAR.
Funding for the railway project is estimated at $2 billion.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak