Anglo Said to Decide Against Takeover Bid for Macarthur Coal
September 07, 2011, 5:24 AM EDTBy Carli Lourens and Angus Whitley
(Updates with Anglo reaction in fourth paragraph.)
Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Anglo American Plc decided against a takeover offer for Macarthur Coal Ltd., the Australian miner that’s the target of a A$4.8 billion ($5.1 billion) bid from Peabody Energy Corp., said two people familiar with the process.
Anglo, part owner of the world’s biggest platinum and diamond producers, weighed a bid for Macarthur and studied its finances, said the people, who declined to be identified as deliberations were private.
The decision increases the chance Peabody and its partner ArcelorMittal will take control of Macarthur, whose board agreed to a sweetened offer from the pair last week. They are pursuing Brisbane-based Macarthur, the largest maker of pulverized coal used by steelmakers, as prices for the material surge.
Martin Debelle, a partner at Sydney-based Citadel, the media relations firm for Macarthur, declined to comment. Anglo also wouldn’t comment in an e-mailed reply to a query today.
Anglo American gained 64 pence, or 2.7 percent, to 2,447 pence by 9:28 a.m. in London trading. Macarthur rose 0.1 percent to A$15.97 by the 4:10 p.m. close in Sydney, below the current offer of A$16 from St. Louis-based Peabody and ArcelorMittal.
The companies originally offered A$15.50 a share for the Australian miner in July, which Macarthur rebuffed as too low.
--With assistance from Elisabeth Behrmann and Brett Foley in London. Editor: Tony Barrett, Alastair Reed
To contact the reporters on this story: Carli Lourens in Johannesburg at clourens@bloomberg.net; Angus Whitley in Sydney at awhitley1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net; Jacqueline Simmons at jackiem@bloomberg.net
