Antam asks for more time on Herald bid

Novia D. Rulistia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 06/13/2008 10:04 AM  |  Business

PT Aneka Tambang, the state-owned gold and nickel mining company, has asked for more time to make a final bid for Australian-based Herald Resources Ltd.

The request to move the bidding deadline from June 19 to June 24 follows a rival bid by PT Bumi Resources. On Wednesday, Bumi raised its bid for Herald from A$2.55 per share to A$2.80 per share. Bumi is Indonesia's second largest publicly listed mineral resources company.

Its bid is higher than the A$2.60 to A$2.65 per share offered by Antam and its partner, Shenzen Lingnan Nonfernet Co. of China.

"We need more time to evaluate whether to increase our bid or not," Antam president director Dedi Aditya Sumanegara said Thursday.

He was speaking after meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission VII, which oversees energy affairs.

Both Antam and Bumi are seeking to gain control of lead and zinc reserves run by Dairi Mineral, a subsidiary of Herald, in North Sumatra. Antam already controls 20 percent of reserves in the area.

If Antam's bid is successful, it will hold a 52 percent controlling stake in Dairi, with the rest held by Shenzen.

Herald currently holds an 80 percent stake in Dairi, and controlling stakes in several other gold mining projects in Indonesia.

Dedi said Antam, along with independent appraisal consultant Martokoesoemo and Partners, had met with shareholders, and were given the green light to bid a maximum of A$3.51 per share.

He said Antam also planned to sign a joint venture agreement on June 17 with BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, to build a nickel smelter in Maluku.

The planned acquisition of Herald is part of Antam's efforts to diversify into other mineral commodities to reduce dependence on nickel, which accounted for 80 percent of the company's sales last year -- valued at Rp 12 trillion, up from Rp 5.6 trillion a year earlier.

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