Indonesian coal producer PT Bumi Resources Tbk (BUMI) is looking to restructure its finance. The company plans to swap its debts for share, through raising IDR 26.9 trillion (about US$ 2 billion) through a rights offering.
The company will issue up to 29.1 billion new shares which are equivalent to 79.5 percent of its enlarged capital with Preemptive Rights (ER). These 29.1 billion shares will then be sold at about IDR 926 per share.
The transaction is expected to take place in 2017, fetching a total amount of IDR 26.9 trillion – part of the company’s efforts to restructure its US$ 4.2 billion debt.
The debt is intended to be reduced to US$ 1.6 billion, of which US$ 2 billion will be converted into shares, while the remaining will become Mandatory Convertible Bonds (MCB) or mandatory convertible bonds with a seven-years term.
Bumi Resources will use the proceeds to pay off debts to China Investment Corporation (CIC) along with eight other lenders. In an event that shareholders are reluctant to participate, the creditors will absorb all new shares issued, allowing Bumi Resources’ obligations to be converted into shares.
Later, no interests will be converted into shares of the company.
“This way, the old shareholders are given the opportunity to keep their ownership, but at a higher sum than the company’s current stock price. This is already stated in the agreement between the firm and creditors,” said finance director at Bumi Resources, Andrew Beckham, in Jakarta recently.
In the proposal, CIC would control 22.6 percent of Bumi Resources’ shares while 2016 bondholders would get 4.6 percent, and 2017 bondholders would obtain 10.6 percent. Credit Suisse would also get 3.6 percent, UBS 0.8 percent, Axis Bank 0.8 percent, Deutsche Bank 0.7 percent, and Raiffeisen Bank International 1.2 percent.
Bumi Resources primarily exports coal to China, Japan, and India. The Bakrie family-controlled firm supplies 25 percent of its coal to the domestic market and aims to boost coal production up to 100 million tonnes next year following this agreement for a debt-restructuring scheme.
The company forecast its production to increase by 5 percent more with the sales target also increasing by 7 percent in the near future, considering the surging demand for coal in the country as a result of the government’s ambitious electricity procurement programme.
Known as the most indebted coal miner in Southeast Asia, Bumi Resources has spent half the decade trying to reduce its debt.
In August, the company sold 50 percent of its stakes in unit Leap Forward Resources Ltd to two investors – Smart Alliance Ltd and Oceanpro Investments – in a US$ 90 million deal. The transaction was used to repay part of the company’s debts to Axis Bank Ltd, according to corporate secretary Dileep Srivastava.
On Friday, Bumi Resources shares increased by 0.68 percent to close at IDR 296 per share, against a 0.08 percent gain in the broader index.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
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