Peabody-ArcelorMittal bags Macarthur

On July 11,the Peabody-ArcelorMittal combine had made an initial offer of AUD 15.50 per share for the Australian mining firm,valuing the company at about AUD 4.7 billion.

Thereafter on August 1,the combine launched a hostile takeover bid after Macarthur Board refused to back the offer.

The bid requires support of over 50 per cent of the total shareholders.

“This is a major step forward in our acquisition process… We now look forward to completing this transaction in a timely manner,” Peabody Energy’s Chairman and CEO Gregory H. Boyce said in a joint statement issued by ArcelorMittal and Peabody.

“Our offer is the only offer before Macarthur shareholders,and we urge them to accept without delay and receive a substantial premium for their investment,” ArcelorMittal’s CFO Aditya Mittal said in the statement.

ArcelorMittal is also the second largest shareholder of Macarthur Coal,with a 16 per cent stake.

Macarthur is the world’s largest producer of pulverised coal,with its two mines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. The company,which exports its entire product,has plans to double its production capacity by 2014.

The Australian mining firm has been a takeover target for many companies and had fended off four such bids in recent times.

The ArcelorMittal-Peabody combine have launched the offer through a subsidiary,called PEAMCoal,in which Peabody holds 60 per cent,while the steel giant has rest of the stake.