UPDATE 1-Indonesia Antam shareholders approve Herald bid

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By Nury Sybli

JAKARTA, April 18 (Reuters) - Indonesian miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM.JK) said on Friday it had won shareholder approval to acquire Australian miner Herald Resources Ltd HER.AX.

The acquisition will enable state-run Antam and its partner in the bid, China's Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co Ltd 000060.SZ, to extend its control over Herald's Dairi zinc and lead project in Indonesia's North Sumatra.

Herald Resources has recommended its shareholders accept Antam and Zhongjin's A$500 million ($469.5 million) offer. Their offer is subject to a number of conditions, including a minimum 50.1 percent acceptance and approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board of Australia.

They have jointly offered to pay A$2.50 for each Herald HER.AX share, after Indonesia's largest coal miner, PT Bumi Resources Tbk (BUMI.JK), offered to pay A$2.25.

The Indonesian company has already bought a 10.7 percent stake in Herald and also holds a 20 percent interest in Herald's 80 percent-owned and as yet undeveloped Dairi project.

Antam's president director Dedi Aditya Sumanagara indicated the company might later increase the offer price as the bid price was lower than what they perceive as Herald's fair value.

"We will offer a reasonable and best price for our shareholders. The price that we have offered so far is A$2.5, but we will be flexible. Our independent accountant put a fair price of A$3.51 (for each Herald shares)," Sumanagara said.

However, there is still some uncertainty about the acquisition as Bumi plans to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on April 30 to seek approval to lift its offer price for Herald's shares.

"I think we can expect Bumi to lift its bid later as the company plans to seek shareholder approval later this month," John Teja, head of equities sales at Ciptadana Securities, told Reuters.

Herald's shares closed 2.52 percent higher at A$2.85 on Friday.

Antam (ATM.AX), which produces nickel ore and smelts ferro-nickel, has announced plans to diversify into other base metals.

It has said in the past it wants to boost gold output. It aims to produce 15 tonnes of gold a year by 2017, from around 3 tonnes a year.

In February, it said that it may buy up to 18.72 percent of Freeport McMoRan's (FCX.N) Indonesian unit in a deal estimated to be worth about $3 billion.

Antam's 2007 net profit more than trebled to 5.12 trillion rupiah ($557.4 million), thanks to a rise in metal prices.

Antam's shares gained 4.38 percent to 3,575 rupiah by late Friday, outpacing the 0.24 percent rise in the composite index .JKSE. ($1=9,186 rupiah) ($1=1.065 Australian Dollar) (Writing by Harry Suhartono, editing by Sugita Katyal)