MUMBAI: India's diversified Aditya Birla Group is considering bidding for Australia's New Hope Corp, a $5 billion coal miner that put itself up for auction last month, sources with direct knowledge said on Wednesday.
The group, a telecoms-to-cement conglomerate, requires thermal coal for group companies Hindalco Industries, India's top aluminium producer, and UltraTech Cement, the country's largest cement producer.
The group is expected to appoint an adviser for the bidding process soon, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters. They declined to be named as the information is not public yet. A spokeswoman for the Aditya Birla Group declined to comment.
New Hope is considering a break-up and asset sales amid interest from global resource companies, sources said last month.
Among those interested in the Queensland-based thermal coal producer are India's No.3 steelmaker, JSW Steel, China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd and London-listed Xstrata , the sources had said.
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