Rajawali Group interest to buy land concession BHP Biliton

The Rajawali group expresses its interest in acquiring 335,000 hectares of Maruwai coal mining concession areas owned by BHP Billiton.
Managing Director and Chief Business Development Officer of PT Rajawali Corpora Darjoto Setyawan revealed the group had expressed to BHP Billiton their intention to buy the areas.
The investment company owned by tycoon Peter Sondakh will use funds from its sales of publicly listed PT Excelcomindo Pratama and PT Bentoel Internasional Investama.
"BHP Billiton is one of the five mining companies whose mines we are targeting. To realize the purchase, we will use the funds raised from the sales of Bentoel and Excelcomindo," he said yesterday.
Rajawali divested a 16% stake in Excelcomindo in 2007 and was able to raise IDR4.1 trillion in fund. Meanwhile, in last June the investment company disposed a 56.96% stake in Bentoel for IDR3.35 trillion.
The group would focus on commodity-based businesses in the wake of an upward trend in commodity prices.
"To acquire the mine from BHP Billiton, we will compete with 25 other companies. As to our bid, we can reveal it yet," he said.
He continued the mining areas of BHP Billiton were located in several locations, but they would be sold in one package.
When asked for confirmation about the possibility to alliance with PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam to buy BHP Billiton, Darjoto said such a possibility existed, but the company had yet reviewed the plan.
"There has yet been a review whether we will alliance with Bukit Asam or with other state-owned enterprises interested in buying BHP Billiton," he inserted.
Several investors already expressing their interests are publicly listed PT Adaro Energy, PT Indika Energy, PT Bayan Resources, PT Bumi Resources, PT Medco Energi Internasional, PT Aneka Tambang, Bukit Asam, Itochu Indonesia, and one Chinese company.
President Director of BHP Billiton Edwin Gerungan when asked for confirmation only said that the sales process was still running. He confirmed that the company would ask for cash payment.
"We have appointed UBS to handle the sales."