Whitehaven Shares Rise on Australian Report of $2.8 Billion Takeover Bid
Whitehaven Coal Ltd. rose to a record in Sydney trading after the Australian newspaper said First Reserve Corp., its largest shareholder, is in talks for a A$3 billion ($2.8 billion) joint buyout of the coal producer.
Whitehaven rose 3.8 percent to A$6.36 at the 4:10 p.m. close on the Australian stock exchange. The stock has risen 18 percent since the Australian Financial Review said Aug. 4 that the Sydney-based company may have received approaches.
First Reserve, a U.S. private equity firm, and coal producer Alpha Natural Resources Inc. are seeking to buy part of the stake held by American Metals & Coal International Inc., the Australian reported today without citing anybody. Foreign companies are targeting coal producers in Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of the fuel, as prices are expected to gain until 2012, according to forecasts from Deutsche Bank AG.
“The company has had a data room in place for a long period of time for use in relation to various potential transactions,” Whitehaven said today in an e-mailed statement. “The company stressed that it has had and continues to have discussions with third parties in relation to potential corporate transactions and that it was highly uncertain as to whether the discussions would lead to a proposal for consideration by the Whitehaven Board and shareholders.”
Shareholders
Whitehaven declined to directly comment on the Australian report. First Reserve was unavailable for comment when contacted by phone outside of business hours at the company’s U.S. offices in Greenwich.
FRC Whitehaven, controlled by First Reserve, has a 27 percent stake in Whitehaven, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. AMCI is the second-largest holder in Whitehaven with an 11 percent stake.
Expanding output at the Narrabri mine in Australia’s New South Wales state may make the company a takeover target, Whitehaven Chief Executive Officer Tony Haggarty said in June. The company on Aug. 5 said it was in talks for a potential transaction, without giving details.
Banpu Pcl, Thailand’s biggest coal producer, agreed last month to buy the rest of Centennial Coal Co. for A$2 billion. Last year, Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. won Australian government approval for a A$3.5 billion takeover of Felix Resources Ltd.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elisabeth Behrmann in Sydney at ebehrmann1@bloomberg.net
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