Sale of New Hope's shares in Adaro to be completed next week
Wednesday, April 20 2005 - 02:44 AM WIB
The consortium comprising of four top local businessmen; Edwin Soeryadjaya, Teddy P. Rachmat, Benny Soebianto and Boy Tohir have agreed to take over the Australia-based New Hope's 41 percent in Adaro for about US$378 million.
Boy Tohir, the spokesman for the consortium, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the transaction over the sale of New Hope's shares in Adaro would not be affected by the legal dispute between Beckett and Deutsche Bank. "We hope the transaction could be settled next week," he was quoted as saying.
He said that the consortium would use its own funds and loans to be provided by foreign banks to finance the transaction, which reaches US$378 million in value. "The financial support from foreign banks indicate that there is a confidence in the investment climate in Indonesia," he added.
The transaction would raise the ownership of the four businessmen in Adaro to 92 percent. At present, the four businessmen, through PT Dianlia, have already controlled 51 percent of Adaro's shares
The director general of geology and mineral resources Felix Sembiring had asked the consortium to temporarily stop the negotiation with New Hope until the ownership of the company's shares was cleared.
As earlier reported, the dispute began when PT Asminco Bara Utama, which owns 40 percent share in PT Adaro, surrendered its shares to Deutsche Bank in 1997 as part of the collaterals of its debts worth US$100 million to the bank.
The bank sold the shares to Dianlia later in 2002 after Asminco failed to pay its debt. The purchase raised Dianlia's ownership in the coal company to 51 percent.
Not happy with the deal, Beckett Pte Ltd, the parent company of PT Asminco, disputed the sales and took the case to the South Jakarta court and then won the legal fight to cancel the deal. The Singapore-based Beckett is owned by Indonesian businessmen Sukanto Tanoto, the owner of the Raja Garuda Mas Group and Hashim Djoyohadikusumo. (*)