Whitehaven Coal’s purchase of two coking coal mines from BHP and its partner, Japan’s Mitsubishi, for $US3.2 billion ($5 billion) will push earnings per share up 93 per cent by 2025, according to brokers at Citi.

The investment bank’s analysts appear to have backed the acquisition – which has been opposed by Whitehaven’s largest shareholder, London hedge fund Bell Rock Capital Management – increasing their target price on the company’s shares by more than 10 per cent to $8.45.