Coal miner Bayan Resources has received a bid from Indonesian tycoon Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad that values the coal miner at a fraction of its market value, according to people familiar with the matter.

An entity controlled by Haji Isam, as Syamsuddin is frequently known, has offered around $3-billion cash for a 62% stake in Jakarta-based Bayan Resources, which is mostly owned by billionaire Low Tuck Kwong and his daughter, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.

Any payments would probably be in installments rather than a lump sum, some of the people said. A deal at that price would represent a roughly 80% discount to current market levels.

Bayan Resources has a share market value of some $26-billion, making Low Indonesia’s third-richest man. The family’s majority interest would likely sell at a steep discount because the stock’s limited free float and thin trading can inflate its quoted market price. The longer-term outlook for thermal coal is also muted as consumers shift toward cleaner energy, plus Indonesia’s government has imposed a coal mining quota that’s hobbled local players.

The sale talks are ongoing and there’s no guarantee a deal will be reached, the people said.

A representative for Isam didn’t respond to a request for comment. Bayan Resources and the Low family also didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Isam, 49, is a businessman from Kalimantan who was among the biggest backers of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s 2024 election campaign. His conglomerate, PT Jhonlin Group, is already a major coal miner in its own right, requesting a government quota to produce about 60-million tons of the fuel this year, Bloomberg reported in July.

Acquiring a stake in Bayan would make him the Southeast Asian nation’s top coal magnate.

Any transaction would come amid a difficult trading environment for Indonesia’s miners.

Prabowo has slashed the production quotas of some of the country’s biggest producers in an effort to boost coal prices. Other companies have been hit by steep fines for forestry permit violations.

Bayan was among those worst affected by the quota cuts, people familiar said. Competitors including PT Bumi Resources and PT Adaro Andalan were largely spared, Bloomberg reported in February.

Low, 78, owns 40% of Bayan Resources while another 22% is held by his adult daughter.

Low was born in Singapore and moved to Indonesia in his early 20s. He took Indonesian citizenship in 1992 and founded Bayan Resources in 2004. Most of his net worth derives from the listed coal miner, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His other main assets include a 78% stake in Singapore-based renewable firm, Metis Energy.

Should all parties align on the terms of a deal, the transaction could complete before the end of the year, one of the people said. Isam will probably get financing from State-owned Indonesian banks, another said.

Bayan Resources also operates ports in Indonesia. It sold about 68-million metric tons of the fossil fuel last year when it also reported some $3.4-billion in revenue.