 |
Australian coal miner New Hope has received a number of preliminary takeover proposals and will launch a formal process to look at selling the company, the firm said on Wednesday.
New Hope shares jumped as much as 23 percent on the news, giving the company a market capitalization of A$5.4 billion ($5.1 billion).
The miner would not name the interested parties but local media speculation has pointed to Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata [XTA.L 764.00 
-26.90 (-3.4%)] as a potential bidder.
-26.90 (-3.4%)] as a potential bidder.New Hope would now invite selected parties to submit proposals to the board for consideration after receiving "a number of preliminary and incomplete proposals", Chairman Robert Millner said in a statement.
"A formal process will allow the board to assess these opportunities in a considered manner, with minimal disruption to New Hope's day-to-day business activities," he said.
Xstrata was considering a major coal acquisition in Australia, the Australian Financial Review reported last month.
The interest follows a string of takeovers of Australian coal miners with Chinese, Indian and other offshore firms seeking to feed booming demand from Asian steel mills.
Peabody Energy [BTU 33.62 
2.01 (+6.36%)] has made a A$4.9 billion takeover bid for Macarthur Coal.
2.01 (+6.36%)] has made a A$4.9 billion takeover bid for Macarthur Coal.New Hope shares were trading 72 cents higher at A$6.01 shortly after opening after initially hitting a high of A$6.50.
New Hope acquired Northern Energy after failing to secure a bid for Australia's Macarthur Coal last year.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Topics:Commodities | Australia | Mergers | Mergers and Acquisitions | Australia & New Zealand
sourec)http://www.cnbc.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment