Approach Suggests Bidding War Likely
Macarthur Coal, currently the subject of a takeover battle, involving America’s Peabody Energy Group and Australia’s New Hope – amongst others – has said that global miner Xstrata has approached a “substantial” shareholder in Macarthur. The ove suggests that Xstrata may be about to join the fray.
``Macarthur advises that it has become aware that an investment bank representing Xstrata has approached one of the major shareholders in Macarthur,'' Macarthur said in a statement. The discussion was ``preliminary and highly conceptual,'' the company said, adding it had no further details.
The Australian Financial Review suggested on Friday that Xstrata had approached two of Macarthur’s biggest shareholders, POSCO and ArcelorMittal, about a joint bid for Macarthur. Macarthur has already rejected two bids from Peabody as well as a $3.4 billion bid from New Hope.
Also on Friday Macarthur announced that a shareholder’s meeting on Monday to vote on its takeover of Noble Group’s Gloucester Coal had been postponed for a week to allow shareholders more time to digest information on the deal. Peabody had previously asked Australia’s Takeover Panel to have the meeting postponed.
With this latest development it is thought that Xstrata in a bidding war. Macarthur is Australia’s biggest exporter of pulverised coal used by steelmakers.
Macarthur shares closed the week at $15.51 a share – some 6% more than the highest bid, New Hope’s $14.58 a share.
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