Anglo’s bankers court offshore bidder s | Groundhog Day at Pacific Smiles | BlackRo ck’s equity partner hunt stalls

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London-listed Anglo American had its bankers courting would-be suitors in Indonesia this week before first-round bids for its $US5 billion ($7.7 billion) Australian portfolio.

Sources said Anglo’s sell-side line-up was zipping around Jakarta, just as the data room for potential bidders interested in its Australian coal assets had opened. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are advising Anglo American. Site visits are scheduled to kick off in the second half of August.

It is understood at least three Indonesian suitors are actively weighing bids for the Anglo assets. The list includes coal mining contractor BUMA, the Salim family’s MACH Energy, and the Widjaja family’s Golden Energy and Resources. Of note, BUMA and MACH are understood to be discussing a joint bid, but are far from committed to working together.

All three have been around Australian coal mines for years. Last year, BUMA was an underbidder for BHP’s $6 billion-plus sale of Blackwater and Daunia mines. MACH Energy owns Mount Pleasant thermal coal mine, acquired from Rio Tinto in 2015. And GEAR helped ASX-listed Stanmore Resources acquire BHP Mitsui Coal assets in 2022.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

The Australian sharemarket closed at a record level on Thursday, after comments from the US Federal Reserve chairman spurred hopes that the world’s largest central bank would cut rates at its next meeting in September.

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