MELBOURNE, June 7 (Reuters) - BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) said on Tuesday it has agreed to sell its coal assets in Indonesia to its partner, Adaro Energy ADRO.JK , following a slump in prices for metallurgical coal.
BHP did not disclose the price for its 75 percent stake in IndoMet Coal, which it first flagged was up for sale in April.
"After a detailed review of IndoMet Coal, we concluded that although the project could support a larger scale development, BHP Billiton has a range of other growth options in the portfolio that are more attractive for future investment," IndoMet Coal asset president James Palmer said in a statement.
Analysts said in April BHP would be lucky to fetch $200 million for the stake, well below the $335 million Adaro paid for a 25 percent stake in IndoMet in 2010, due to regulatory uncertainty in Indonesia and the sharp slump in coal prices. holds seven coal contracts of work in Central and Eastern Kalimantan, including the 1 million tonnes a year Haju mine, which started producing last year.
Haju made up less than 2 percent of BHP's metallurgical coal output in the first nine months of this year.