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Last week Asia Resource Minerals Plc, formerly called Bumi Plc, agreed, twice, to extend the deadline for completion of a major reshuffle amongst its asset ownership and shareholder groups until today January 20th, as Jewish Business News reported
Under the terms of a so-called Separation Agreement the Indonesian Bakrie family is supposed to buy one of Asia Resource Minerals’ mining companies for US$501 million, and also simultaneously sell back its 23.8% share position in Asia Resource Minerals itself to the Asia Resource Minerals Chairman Samin Tan for US$223 million. In the process this would when completed at a stroke give Chairman Tan a near absolute controlling position of 47.6% of the company.
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Nathaniel Rothschild / Getty
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After the deals didn’t close on schedule last week the clocks for closing the transactions were then reset to today. However they again didn’t close today either, and Asia Resource Minerals has issued another follow up statement indicating the clock is being reset one more time; now the deals are supposed to close on or before February 21st, 2014.
As an important indicator of good faith, however, the Bakrie family has apparently also agreed that the US$50 million they have already put up in escrow for their side of the transaction will be paid immediately to Asia Resource Minerals, by Thursday of this week, and that these funds will no longer be refundable to them unless Asia Resource Minerals should materially default on its own obligations under the agreement.
So the bottom line is more frustration for Nick von Schirnding the Asia Resource Minerals Chief Executive and his ever patient shareholders. These include of course 21% shareholder Nathaniel Rothschild and Samin Tan, the company’s Chairman, whose own holding in Asia Resource Minerals will double to 47.6% when it all gets done.
Therefore, if, as and when this all gets transacted as it is now supposed to, Jewish Business News will report same to our readers. By making the escrow deposit non-refundable this does raise the stakes significantly at least, so once that money comes in the probabilities for success increase significantly. Delays in complicated transactions are not unusual, but this one has being going on for a long time now.
