Antam issues shares for Freeport purchase

Antam issues shares for Freeport purchase

JAKARTA: PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) said on Wednesday it is planning to issue new shares later this year in an effort to help finance the planned purchase of the government's 9.36 percent stake in PT Freeport Indonesia.

"The proceeds from the rights issue will be used to help finance the purchase of Freeport," Antam Chief Executive Deddy Aditya Sumanagara told reporters. He did not give details on the value or the ratio of the new shares.

The nickel and gold producer has short-listed five investment banks to underwrite the issuance of the new shares and the winner will be named within "one or two days," he said.

The investment bank will also act as an independent adviser to evaluate the acquisition of the Freeport stake, he added.

He did not provide the names of the investment banks, but said that the five securities firms were mostly foreign.

The U.S.'s Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. has an 81.28 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia. The U.S. company's wholly- owned subsidiary Indocopper Investama holds 9.36 percent and the Indonesian government owns the remaining 9.36 percent. -- Dow Jones