San Miguel eyes stake in Bumi Resources

Food and beverages producer San Miguel Corporation of the Phillippines is eying a 35 percent stake in Indonesian biggest coal producer PT Bumi Resources.

San Miguel's board of directors had authorized the firm's management to intitate talks with PT Bakrie and Brothers, the firm said in a statement.

"The Board?s approval is line with San Miguel?s previously announced growth plans to participate in high-growth industries like mining, power, infrastructure, water, other utilities and property," it said.

Bakrie & Brothers, which is controlled by the Bakrie family, has been forced to sell their share ownership in Bumi Resources and other subsidiaries to pay its debts of about US$1.2 billion to several funders including Oddickson Finance, JP Morgan and ICICI bank following the free fall of the shares of the company?s subsidiaries.

Several firms have voiced interests to buy stake in Bumi, including the consortium of state owned companies PT Timah, PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, PT Aneka Tambang.

Last week, Bumi's spokesman Dileep Srivastava said Bakrie was concluding a negotiation on the sales of its 35 percent share in Bumi Resources, but he declined to name the companies Bakrie was negotiating with. (denny)