Peabody and ArcelorMittal receive clearance for Macarthur takeover

Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal have announced that they have received clearance from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to proceed with their AU$16/share offer for all outstanding shares of Macarthur Coal Ltd. The approval now means that all regulatory conditions for the completion of PEAMCoal’s offer have now been met.

“This action from the Ministry of Commerce now clears the way for us to complete this transaction in a timely manner,” Gregory H. Boyce, chairman and CEO of Peabody said. “Our offer has been recommended by all the participating members of the Macarthur board and is a substantial premium of 44% to the closing price on July 11, just before our proposal was made public.”

Aditya Mittal, CFO of ArcelorMittal, said, “It is now three months since we submitted our initial proposal for Macarthur. Our offer remains the only one before Macarthur shareholders, and we urge them to accept without delay or risk missing out on a substantial premium for their investment.”

Regulatory approval from China was required because Macarthur controls a significant portion of the pulverised coal injection market, of which China is a major customer.

Peabody and ArcelorMittal’s joint-owned entity, PEAMCoal, currently owns a 22.7% stake in Macarthur Coal. The takeover bid is worth approximately AU$ 4.9 billion (US$ 4.7 billion).

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/13102011/peabody_and_arcelormittal_receive_clearance_for_macarthur_takeover/