M&A

11 November, 2009

UPDATE 1-Indonesia's Antam drops plan to buy Newmont unit

(Adds quotes, details)

JAKARTA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Indonesian state-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang (ANTM.JK) said on Wednesday it had cancelled plans to buy shares in a local unit of Newmont Mining Corp (NEM.N) because it could not reach agreement on the size of the stake.

Antam's president director, Alwin Syah Loebis, said the firm wanted to buy 15.5 percent of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (PT NNT), joining a consortium of local governments which also want to buy stakes in the Newmont unit. PT NNT runs the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in Sumbawa island.

"After we studied the commercial aspect internally, Antam's management decided not to participate in the consortium of West Nusa Tenggara government to buy the divested stake," the firm said in an emailed statement.

"But in future, if the consortium has other considerations, Antam is ready to cooperate."

An arbitration court in late March ordered the foreign shareholders of PT NNT to sell part of their stake to local investors or to the government within six months, resolving a long-running dispute over ownership. [ID:nJAK452038]

Three local governments of West Nusa Tenggara province, West Sumbawa regency and Sumbawa regency -- the three areas where the mine is located -- formed a consortium with financing firm Multicapital and agreed to pay $391 million for a 10 percent stake in the unit earlier this month. [ID:nJAK31127]

Local media have reported that Multicapital is linked to coal-miner PT Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK). Bumi has declined to comment in the past.

Bumi's shares rallied on the news that Antam had pulled out of the deal, ending up 12.79 percent, outperforming the broader market .JKSE which gained 0.92 percent. (Reporting by Fitri Wulandari; Writing by Tyagita Silka; Editing by Sara Webb)

Source: http://www.reuters.com