Peabody and ArcelorMittal say hostile bid for Macarthur open

PARIS: US firm Peabody Energy and Europe's ArcelorMittal steel company said Thursday their hostile Aus$4.7 billion ($4.9 billion, 3.4 billion euro) bid for Australia's Macarthur had formally opened.

"Peabody and ArcelorMittal urge all Macarthur shareholders to accept the compelling offer to receive a substantial premium for their investment," they said in a joint statement.

Jointly vying for Macarthur under the banner PEAMCoal, Peabody and ArcelorMittal launched a hostile bid of Aus$15.50 per share on August 1 after the world's largest miner of pulverised coking coal used as a low-cost input in steel making refused to back their initial friendly offer.

Macarthur's management urged shareholders yesterday not to accept the offer until it is able to review a revised bidder's statement to be issued following their talks with PEAMCoal, the investment vehicle being used by Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal.

PEAMCoal is 60 percent owned by Peabody and 40 percent by ArcelorMittal.

ArcelorMittal and Peabody Energy said a bidder's statement would be sent to Macarthur shareholders today.

Macarthur's shares were trading Thursday at around the Aus$15.50 per share offer price.

ArcelorMittal and Peabody Energy said current Macarthur shareholders would be entitled to retain dividends paid for the company's financial year that ended on June 30 up to 16 cents, making their offer worth up to Aus$15.66 per share.

"Macarthur shareholders now have a clear opportunity to accept the PEAMCoal offer at a price that gives full credit to the state of Macarthur's current operations and development projects," Peabody Energy chief executive Gregory Boyce said in a statement.

They said the offer represents a 41 percent gain over the Aus$11.08 price of Macarthur's shares on July 11, the day Peabody and ArcelorMittal's approach was disclosed to the market.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011