Sinar Mas makes offer for Amcol

Sinar Mas makes offer for Amcol

SINGAPORE (Reuter): OCBC Bank Ltd said yesterday that Asia
Food & Properties Ltd (AFP), a unit of the Indonesian Sinar Mas
Group, had made a conditional takeover offer for all ordinary
shares in troubled property and finance firm Amcol Holdings Ltd.

OCBC said AFP was the vehicle which Indonesian white knight PT
Sinar Mas Tunggal (SMT) would use to bail out the ailing firm.

The deal, including a listing in Singapore in U.S. dollars,
has gained approval in principle from the Stock Exchange of
Singapore, OCBC said in a statement.

AFP holds the food processing and distribution assets of the
Sinar Mas group and is a unit of British Virgin Islands-
registered Flambo International Ltd, whose capital is held in a
beneficial trust for Indonesia's Widjaja family.

OCBC said the takeover would be effected by a share transfer
scheme in which four new AFP shares would be offered for every
three Amcol shares and one AFP warrant for every 10 offer shares
held.

The deal announced by OCBC completes the Sinar Mas rescue plan
announced in August 1996 by Amcol's judicial managers, Price
Waterhouse.

Amcol was placed in judicial management on July 25, 1996 when
the High Court agreed to an application made by three of its
creditor banks -- OCBC, OUB Bank and Bank of China -- after Amcol
announced it faced severe cash flow difficulties and could not
service its debts.

Price Waterhouse said Amcol had liabilities of Singapore $1.16
billion as at May 31 1996 and had total assets of S$1.55 billion.