Indonesian Mining Tycoon Garibaldi Thohir-Backed Merdeka Gold To Raise Up To $291 Million From IPO

Merdeka Gold Resources—backed by Indonesian mining tycoons Garibaldi Thohir and Edwin Soeryadjaya—is raising as much as 4.8 trillion ($291 million) from its IPO.

The company—which is developing the Pani gold mine in Gorontalo in the northern Indonesian island of Sulawesi—is offering up to 1.6 million new shares (equivalent to 10% stake in Merdeka Gold) at between 1,800 rupiah to 3,020 rupiah each in its maiden share sale, raising as much as 4.8 trillion rupiah and valuing the company at 48.8 trillion rupiah ($2.9 billion), according to a statement released on Monday.

“We are confident that the Pani gold project will deliver long-term value,” Boyke Poerbaya Abidin, president director of Merdeka Gold Resources said in the statement.

The company is gearing up for listing as gold prices climbed to fresh record highs above $3,600 per ounce this week. Gold has soared almost 40% this year as investors consider the precious metal as a haven amid rising geopolitical tensions and worries that President Donald Trump’s tariff wars will negatively impact the global economy.

The IPO will close on September 19 and trading of Merdeka Gold on the Indonesia Stock Exchange will start September 23. Jakarta-listed Merdeka Copper Gold, which is also backed by Thohir and Soeryadjaya, will reduce its stake in the company to 56.4% after the IPO.

Merdeka Gold will use bulk of the funds raised from the IPO to repay debt, while the rest will be used for working capital to support its operation. The company is developing the Pani gold mine, which can produce 7 million tonnes of gold ore annually when completed by December this year.

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With an estimated net worth of $3.8 billion Thohir and his family is among the wealthiest in Indonesia. Besides his stake in Merdeka Copper, he has interests in coal miner Alamtri Resources as well as Merdeka Battery Materials, a supplier of metals used in electric vehicles. Soeryadjaya, who has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion, has stake in more than 15 companies including coal miner Adaro Energy held through his investment firm, Saratoga Investama Sedaya.