PT Adaro Energy, Indonesia's largest coal miner by market capitalization, obtained a permit from the Australian government to acquire Rio Tinto’s 80 percent stake in its remaining coal mine in Australia.

Adaro and Melbourne-based private equity firm EMR Capital plan to jointly manage and operate Kestrel, an underground mine that produces coking coal in Queensland’s Bowen Basin region and the last coal mine that was operated by Rio Tinto, the world's second largest coal miner.

Adaro chief legal officer and director Mohammad Syah Indra Aman said the permit was issued last week.

“[The permit] from the [Australian government] was issued last week. We will continue to prepare other [requirements],” he said on Wednesday as reported by kontan.co.id, adding that Adaro was currently also preparing to finance the acquisition.

Adaro is hoping to finalize the transaction by the end of the third quarter this year. The transaction is estimated to be US$2.25 billion.

Up to 40 percent of the financing for the acquisition will come from internal funding, while the remaining will come from syndicated loans from banks. Several banks have been chosen, both foreign and local, such as state-owned lender Bank Mandiri.

Adaro’s portion of the acquisition is 48 percent while EMR Capital portion is 52 percent. (dwa)