Takeover bid eyes coal firm
Source: Bloomberg News |
July 12, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ARCELORMITTAL and Peabody Energy Corp made a cash takeover bid for Macarthur Coal Ltd, valuing the world's biggest exporter of pulverized coal used by steelmakers at A$4.7 billion (US$5.1 billion).
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel mill, and Peabody plan to bid through a jointly owned company, offering A$15.50 a share, Brisbane-based Macarthur said yesterday in a statement. That's a 40 percent premium over yesterday's closing price. ArcelorMittal holds a 14 percent stake in Macarthur.
Buying Macarthur would give the pair ownership of mines producing steelmaking coal in Australia's Queensland state, the world's biggest exporter of the fuel, as prices trade near a record. The bidders will likely need the support of China's Citic Group and South Korea's Posco, which own 22.78 percent of Macarthur between them.
The bid "puts the rest of the sector firmly back as takeover targets," Colin McLelland, resources analyst at Investec Bank Australia Ltd., said by phone from Sydney. "It's not clear what Citic will do. I suspect they will just hold their stake."
Macarthur fell 2.8 percent to A$11.08 at the 4:10 pm close of trade in Sydney, taking losses this year to 13 percent.
Macarthur's board will "seek to engage with Peabody and ArcelorMittal in relation to the price and terms," the company said in the statement.
It's the second time Peabody, the largest U.S. coal producer, has bid for Macarthur, which rejected its A$3.8 billion bid in May last year.
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel mill, and Peabody plan to bid through a jointly owned company, offering A$15.50 a share, Brisbane-based Macarthur said yesterday in a statement. That's a 40 percent premium over yesterday's closing price. ArcelorMittal holds a 14 percent stake in Macarthur.
Buying Macarthur would give the pair ownership of mines producing steelmaking coal in Australia's Queensland state, the world's biggest exporter of the fuel, as prices trade near a record. The bidders will likely need the support of China's Citic Group and South Korea's Posco, which own 22.78 percent of Macarthur between them.
The bid "puts the rest of the sector firmly back as takeover targets," Colin McLelland, resources analyst at Investec Bank Australia Ltd., said by phone from Sydney. "It's not clear what Citic will do. I suspect they will just hold their stake."
Macarthur fell 2.8 percent to A$11.08 at the 4:10 pm close of trade in Sydney, taking losses this year to 13 percent.
Macarthur's board will "seek to engage with Peabody and ArcelorMittal in relation to the price and terms," the company said in the statement.
It's the second time Peabody, the largest U.S. coal producer, has bid for Macarthur, which rejected its A$3.8 billion bid in May last year.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
