Singapore (Platts)--5Oct2011/523 am EDT/923 GMT
Queensland thermal coal exporter New Hope announced Wednesday that it was was considering a number of takeover offers and had begun a formal process to evaluate its options.
"It is the duty of the board to consider legitimate opportunities for the company which may be in the best interests of all shareholders. A formal process will allow the board to assess these opportunities in a considered manner, with minimal disruption to New Hope's day-to-day business activities," New Hope Corp chairman Robert Millner said in a statement.
Under the sale process, which is expected to take several months, selected suitors will be asked to submit formal bids to New Hope's board.
New Hope's share price shot up 14.5% to A$6.06/share after the release of the company's statement to the Australian Securities Exchange Wednesday, valuing the company at about A$5 billion ($4.75 billion).
New Hope operates three open-cut mines in the southeast Queensland state -- New Acland, Jeebropilly and New Oakleigh -- which produce about 5 million mt/year of thermal coal, and owns 100% of the Queensland Bulk Handling coal exports terminal at Brisbane port which has a capacity of 10 million mt/year. It also has coal projects under development in New South Wales and is close to completing an A$243 million takeover of Australian coal explorer Northern Energy whose assets comprise its flagship Colton export coking coal mine in Queensland.
Possible suitors for New Hope include Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Yancoal Australia -- a subsidiary of Chinese coal miner Yanzhou -- said an Australia-based mining analyst who declined to be named.
"There are also a bunch of Indian and Chinese groups that want access to Australian thermal coal assets. Yancoal said when they purchased the Cameby Downs mine which is next to New Acland that they were mindful of Surat Basin coals' suitability for coal conversion technologies..." said the analyst.
Yancoal in August purchased Syntech Resources, whose assets included its Cameby Downs export thermal coal mine in Queensland, for A$202.5 million, and in September, bought Wesfarmers' Premier thermal coal mine in Western Australia for A$296.8 million.
New Hope has appointed Pitt Capital Partners as its financial advisers and Baker & Mackenzie as its legal advisers.
--Mike Cooper, michael_cooper@platts.com
New Hope's share price shot up 14.5% to A$6.06/share after the release of the company's statement to the Australian Securities Exchange Wednesday, valuing the company at about A$5 billion ($4.75 billion).
New Hope operates three open-cut mines in the southeast Queensland state -- New Acland, Jeebropilly and New Oakleigh -- which produce about 5 million mt/year of thermal coal, and owns 100% of the Queensland Bulk Handling coal exports terminal at Brisbane port which has a capacity of 10 million mt/year. It also has coal projects under development in New South Wales and is close to completing an A$243 million takeover of Australian coal explorer Northern Energy whose assets comprise its flagship Colton export coking coal mine in Queensland.
Possible suitors for New Hope include Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Yancoal Australia -- a subsidiary of Chinese coal miner Yanzhou -- said an Australia-based mining analyst who declined to be named.
"There are also a bunch of Indian and Chinese groups that want access to Australian thermal coal assets. Yancoal said when they purchased the Cameby Downs mine which is next to New Acland that they were mindful of Surat Basin coals' suitability for coal conversion technologies..." said the analyst.
Yancoal in August purchased Syntech Resources, whose assets included its Cameby Downs export thermal coal mine in Queensland, for A$202.5 million, and in September, bought Wesfarmers' Premier thermal coal mine in Western Australia for A$296.8 million.
New Hope has appointed Pitt Capital Partners as its financial advisers and Baker & Mackenzie as its legal advisers.
--Mike Cooper, michael_cooper@platts.com
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