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Jakarta/Hong Kong. Glencore, the world’s biggest commodities trader, is expected to sign a deal within days for a $800-$900 million loan to Indonesia’s Bakrie Group to help it refinance a $1.35 billion facility that became unexpectedly due, sources said on Thursday.

In return, Glencore will be given the right to sell more coal produced by Bakrie-controlled Bumi Plc and the loan will be backed by part of the Bakrie Group’s 47 percent stake in the coal miner, said the sources, who have knowledge of the deal.

The deal will also give Glencore an option to turn the loan into an equity stake if Bakrie cannot repay the debt, one of the sources said.

The sources declined to be identified because the talks were not public.

The sale or marketing rights could be extended to other Bakrie non-coal assets such as for zinc from Bumi Resources Minerals, one of the sources said.

Glencore, several of whose executives are in Jakarta to help close the deal, has been seen as a frontrunner and likely partner for the Bakries since news of the refinancing talks emerged last week, with analysts pointing to its relationship with the family and existing coal marketing agreements. 

The deal would tighten Glencore’s grip on coal sales from Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter. Shares in Jakarta-listed Bumi Resources, Asia’s largest thermal coal exporter, jumped as much as 5.8 percent on the news, outperforming the Jakarta index, which was up 1.5 percent. 

The Indonesian group has held re-financing talks on the debt after mandatory repayment of the loan -- a one-year deal arranged by Credit Suisse in March to consolidate Bakrie family debts -- was triggered by a sharp drop in Bumi’s London shares that took the price below 850 pence last month, sources have said. 

The debt issue has been weighing on the share price of Bumi Plc, a joint venture between the Bakries and financier Nat Rothschild, even though the London listing was meant to provide more transparency to investors. 

“It is hard to understand debt issues if it involves the Bakrie Group -- we never fully know because not all is disclosed,” said Frederick Daniel Tanggela, a coal analyst at Jakarta-based Bahana Securities. 

“Our concern is will this debt issue happen again? They have had this issue over the past few years and people just lose confidence in them.” 

The lenders, who include hedge fund Noonday Asset Management, wanted an immediate solution, one source has said.

The remaining debt from the Credit Suisse facility could be extended with the existing lenders or refinanced through new loans with other parties, one of the sources said. 

The group has held discussions on the debt with at least three other parties including energy trader Vitol SA and private equity firm Northstar, which is backed by US buyout firm TPG, two of the sources told Reuters. 

Bakrie and Northstar have declined to comment.

Glencore has declined to comment while Vitol confirmed the talks. 

Bumi Plc said last week lenders had told the Bakries the loan was “due for repayment in the near future.”

Bumi said the borrowers were in talks over the loan.

Reuters