Australian coal firm sweetens offer
Written on April 16, 2010
New Hope Corp., battling Peabody Energy Corp. and Noble Group Ltd. for control of Macarthur Coal Ltd., revised its all-share offer to include $885 million (A$950 million) cash.
Macarthur shareholders can accept the unchanged share offer of 2.7 New Hope shares for one of theirs, or $13.56 (A$14.50) cash, New Hope said Wednesday. New Hope is based in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.
Macarthur has recommended that shareholders approve a deal that would see Noble, based in Hong Kong, become its largest holder, while rejecting offers from St. Louis-based Peabody and New Hope. Macarthur is the world’s biggest exporter of pulverized coal used by steelmakers overnight pay day loans.
"New Hope’s offer … is superior to all other announced proposals," New Hope Chairman Robert Millner said.
Citic Group, an investment company backed by China’s cabinet, is the largest shareholder in Macarthur through Citic Australia Coal Ltd., which has 22.4 percent. ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, holds 16.6 percent, and South Korea’s Posco owns 8.3 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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