Banpu stake sale of Indonesian coal mining unit
US$400m
Synopsis Banpu, Thailand largest coal miner has sold an 8.7% stake sale of its largest coal operations in Indonesia to raise capital
Firm
Client
Role
Herbert Smith [Lead lawyer: John Moore, Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan]
Seller
International counsel
Herbert Smith [Lead lawyer: Kwok Hon Yee]
Seller
Singapore of counsel
HBT/Herbert Smith [Lead lawyer: David Dawborn, Iril Hiswara]
Seller
Indonesian counsel
Clifford Chance [Lead lawyer: Crawford Brickley, Joan Janssen]
Book runners*
International counsel

Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal miner, has retained Herbert Smith and its associated Indonesian firm, Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung, to advise on the US, UK, Singapore and Indonesian law aspects of Indonesia’s second largest block trade to take place in the last decade.

The transaction involved Banpu’s sale of an 8.7% stake in its listed Indonesian subsidiary, PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk (ITMG), the company’s largest coal mining operations. After the US$400m transaction, Banpu will remain the largest shareholder with 65% ownership of ITM, which owns five mines in Indonesia and has an overall maximum annual capacity of 28.5 million tonnes. The transaction launched and priced overnight on 1 September 2010.

Clifford Chance – which has worked with Goldman Sachs on numerous deals across the Asia Pacific region — recently, including the US$601m top-up placing by COSCO Pacific – was retained by the investment bank once again, as counsel to the international book runners of this deal. The Clifford Chance team was led by Joan Janssen and Crawford Brickley. 

Other significant deals on which Clifford Chance has collaborated with Goldman Sachs in the region include the US$150m sale in PT Adaro Energy, another Indonesian coal mining company, as well as the US$22.1bn share listing of Agricultural Bank of China.

Banpu was established in Thailand in 1983 and was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1989. The company focuses on power project development in Thailand, coal mining in Indonesia, port operations and industrial minerals.

Bahana Securities, Mandiri Sekuritas and Danareksa Securities handled the local trading process.
Earlier this year, Banpu launched a mammoth US$2.2bn unsuccessful takeover offer for Centennial Coal, a major fuel supplier to the New South Wales energy industry in Australia. It retained Norton Rose and Freehills as counsel and Australian counsel, respectively.ALB

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