Winning bidder of Berau Coal to be announced in March

The winning bidder of a 60 percent stake in coal mining firm PT Berau Coal will be announced in March, according to the publicly-listed PT United Tractors in a statement to the Jakarta Stock Exchange.

Berau is a 60 percent subsidiary of United Tractors, which selling its stake in the coal company to raise cash to help repay debts.

The company statement said that 10 investors were currently doing due diligence on Berau Coal. The due diligence started in the middle of January and would be completed in the middle of February.

Meanwhile, an industry source said that thus far, four interested bidders namely Glenclore Coal Australia, Strait Resources Limited, BHP Billiton and PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam had completed due dilligence.

Berau Coal operates around 121,000 hectare mining sites in Berau regency, East Kalimantan. Last year, the company produced around 6.7 million tons of coal.

BNP Paribas has been appointed as the financial adviser of the transaction.(godang)