As the competition for BHP’s coal assets continues to gather pace, Yancoal’s enthusiasm for the offering is showing no signs of abating.
But some are now wondering whether Coronado Global Resources is having second thoughts about an acquisition and will fall away from the leading pack.
Final bids for two of BHP’s top coal mines in Queensland, Daunia and Blackwater, which it owns with partner Mitsubishi, are due in about three or four weeks.
Yancoal is advised by the Royal Bank of Canada.
As earlier reported, six parties were understood to have been shortlisted to buy the assets: Yancoal, Coronado, Stanmore Coal’s Indonesian rival BUMA, Peabody Energy, Whitehaven Coal and Stanmore itself.
The coal mines are expected to sell for billions of dollars, with those competing benefiting from soaring coal prices.
There was always an expectation that Coronado would partner with another group to buy the mines.
Yancoal is 62 per cent-owned by China’s state-owned Yankuang Energy Group, while the state-owned China Cinda Asset Management owns about 13.7 per cent of the group.
It is listed in Australia with a $6.3bn market value, and its share price has almost doubled since the start of last year.
Blackwater produces thermal coal as well as metallurgical coal, while Daunia produces metallurgical coal.
They are two of nine metallurgical coalmines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin that are part of the joint venture, split 50-50 between BHP and Mitsubishi Development.
The assets are up for sale through investment bank Macquarie Capital.
Coalminers have prospered on the back of soaring coal prices linked to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The Australian thermal coal price hit $US330.35 a tonne in November last year, and the metallurgical coal price hit $US381 a tonne.
But prices have since fallen substantially.
The met coal price is now at about $US227.50 a tonne and the price of thermal was down to about $US142.50.
Add your comment to this story
Storage King sale poses questions over worth of Abacus demerger
Many in the market were reading the sale of Abacus Storage King to the interests of its key shareholder Nathan Kirsh and Public Storage as a concession that its demerger was the wrong call.
Stonepeak outlays $5.7bn for stake in Woodside’s LNG Infrastructure
Infrastructure investor Stonepeak is understood to have fended off competition from Williams and GIP to acquire a 40 per cent interest in Woodside’s Louisiana-based LNG Infrastructure.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout