If Monday’s meeting approves the Gloucester acquisition it would give Noble Group a stake of 24% in Macarthur effectively blocking Peabody’s bid for the Queensland miner.
Peabody wants the panel to provide an updated independent expert's report on the Gloucester bid and for the Macarthur shareholder vote on that bid delayed until at least two weeks after the report has been sent to shareholders.
Macarthur’s response was it was justified in not engaging with Peacock on the basis that the conditional bid was “not a superior proposal” to the Gloucester/Noble transaction. It said that this resulted in it not being permitted to engage under its Gloucester agreement.
"It is disingenuous for Peabody to now seek to delay the shareholder meeting in circumstances where it has not made a binding offer to Macarthur shareholders," Macarthur said in a statement to the stock exchange, adding "Your directors believe the Peabody [press] advertisements are self-serving and potentially misleading."
Macarthur rejected an independent report compiled in February which valued its shares at below the Peabody bid, saying that the report did not take into account gains in coal prices since then.
It rejected Peabody claims that Noble would have a controlling influence over Macarthur. It also said that a February independent expert's report valuing Macarthur shares at below Peabody's bid was out of date and did not take into account gains in coal prices.
Macarthur shares rose 5c on Thursday to $14.36, 36c higher than Peabody’s $14 a share bid.
Meanwhile the Australian Financial Review suggested that Macarthur is holding out for a $15 a share bid and that Peabody was offering major shareholders Posco, Citic Pacific Ltd. and ArcelorMittal to persuade them to accept the bid. The newspaper gave no source for its report.
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