Indonesia's Merukh files lawsuit over Newmont shares

JAKARTA Nov 23 (Reuters) - Indonesian mining firm PT Pukuafu Indah said it has filed a lawsuit against the government, in what is shaping up as a contest between two mining tycoons for control of Newmont Mining Corp's (NEM.N) Indonesian assets.

Yusuf Merukh, a politician-turned-businessman whose privately owned firm PT Pukuafu Indah has several mining projects, and the politically connected Bakrie family, which controls coal-miner Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK), both have stakes in Newmont's unit, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT).

PT NNT runs the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine on Sumbawa island and is valued at $3.52 billion.

PT NNT's foreign shareholders last week sold a 10 percent stake for $391 million to PT Multi Daerah Bersaing -- a consortium of the governments of West Nusa Tenggara province, West Sumbawa regency, and Sumbawa regency where the mine is located -- and financing firm PT Multicapital, which is controlled by Bumi Resources.

An arbitration court in late March ordered Newmont and Japan's Sumitomo Corp (8053.T), the foreign shareholders of PT NNT, to sell part of their stake to local investors or to the government within six months, resolving a long-running dispute over ownership.

Now Newmont and Sumitomo together own 70 percent, while Pukuafu owns 20 percent, and the Bakrie-backed consortium owns 10 percent.

However, Merukh said on Friday he had asked the court to annul the arbitration ruling and that the stake should have been sold to Pukuafu in line with an agreement reached in 2007. He said Pukuafu had filed the lawsuit at Central Jakarta court on Nov. 9.

Bambang Setiawan, director general of mineral, coal and geothermal at the energy ministry, said that he was not aware of any agreement to sell the latest stake to Merukh's firm.

"The right to the shares lies with the government, and the shareholders do not, and did not, have any right to nominate or approve who will purchase them," a government lawyer, who declined to be identified by name, said in an email to Reuters, adding "So what Mr. Merukh is claiming is irrelevant even if true. It was not up to the shareholders to offer the shares to him."

According to the terms of its 1986 contract, PT NNT's foreign investors must sell 51 percent of the shares in the unit to local investors.

The foreign shareholders of PT NNT are in the process of selling another 14 percent stake worth $493.6 million to the consortium of local governments, which has to be completed by Nov. 23. (Editing by Sara Webb and David Cowell) ((For a Q+A on Newmont dispute, click on [ID:nJAK465121])) ((fitri.wulandari@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: fitri.wulandari.reuters.com@reuters.net; +62 21 384 6364 ext 904)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))