BHP Billiton - sale of Yabulu nickel refinery

Fri, 03 Jul 2009

BHP Billiton announced it has signed an agreement to sell the Yabulu nickel refinery to companies wholly owned by Professor Clive Palmer. It is expected that the sale will be finalised by 31 July 2009. The terms of the sale are confidential, however both BHP Billiton and Professor Palmer have sought to provide that, at sale completion, working capital and access to funds are sufficient to enable the business to commence as a going concern under Professor Palmer's ownership. BHP Billiton will write-down the carrying value of Yabulu by an estimated USD500 million and a further estimated USD175 million of unrecoverable tax benefits. These write downs will be reported as exceptional items in the results of the group for the year ended 30 June 2009. Further information on BHP Billiton can be found on our Internet site: www.bhpbilliton.com