Samin Tan said that he had gotten approval from a lender to to finance its latest acquisition. Tan would be purchasing a portion of the stake in Indonesian coal producer Bumi. The 28% ownership stake is held by Bakrie Group. Tan is the Chairman of Bumi Plc. He has met the deadline set today to prove to the Board of Directors of Bumi that he would be able to finance the purchase of the stake. Tan confirmed the funding approval in an email to Bloomberg.
Tan said, "Funding to acquire the Bakrie's stake as part of the overall separation transaction has been approved by our funding bank. The loan agreement has been drafted subject to inclusion of a couple of commercial terms which are targeted to be finalized today." He did not give the name of the lender.
Tan has agreed to purchase the 23.8% stake held by the Bakrie's in Bumi for the price tag of USD 223 million. Tan's acquisition would be part of the USD 501 million deal outlined by the board which would end the struggle for control of the company. After Tan acquired the stake, the Bakrie Group would then purchase the 29% ownership stake owned by Bumi in Bumi Resources as per terms of the USD 501 million deal.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the two transactions are supposed to occur simultaneously. However, the deal may not materialize if the Bakrie Group does not have the USD 278 million to fund its share of the transaction. The USD 278 million is what Bakrie would be paying to Bumi to faciliate the completion of the separation deal.
On November 8, Bumi Chief Executive Officer Nick von Schirnding said the company still has to receive proof that the Bakrie Group has the cash to complete its end of the transaction. Meanwhile, Bakrie Group spokesman told Bloomberg by email that the USD 278 million counterpart of the Bakrie's has been in place since January through a direct cash investment by the Bakrie family.
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