New Age World buys 5 pct in Aussie bid target HeraldFri Feb 15,...

New Age World buys 5 pct in Aussie bid target Herald
Fri Feb 15, 2008 3:52am EST Email | Print | Share|

HONG KONG, Feb 15 (Reuters) - A mystery shareholder has built a 5 percent stake in Herald Resources Ltd (HER.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), an Australian mining company at the centre of a takeover battle between two Indonesian firms.

New Age World Ltd said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it had bought 5.06 percent of Herald since Feb.1, buying stakes at market prices of A$2.61-A$2.63 per share, well above the prices offered by the parties hoping to take over the firm.

Indonesian state-controlled mining group PT Antam ANTM.JK and Chinese miner Shenzhen Zhongjin Lignan Nonfemet Co Ltd 000060.SZ have offered A$2.50 a share for Herald, valuing it at A$505 million.

That trumped an earlier bid from Indonesia's PT Bumi BUMI.JK, which had offered A$2.25 a share. It has extended its offer period to March 7 but has yet to say if it will raise the offer.

New Age World Ltd gave the same registered address in its filing as Bumi's bidding vehicle, Calipso Investment Pte Ltd. But a spokesman for Bumi said he had no knowledge of New World Age.