New Hope gets takeover proposals

SYDNEY: Australian coal miner New Hope Corp has received a number of preliminary takeover proposals and will launch a formal process to look at selling the company, the firm said on Wednesday.

New Hope shares jumped as much as 23 percent on the news, giving the company a market capitalisation of A$5.4 billion ($5.1 billion).

The miner would not name the interested parties but local media speculation has pointed to Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata Plc as a potential bidder.

New Hope would now invite selected parties to submit proposals to the board for consideration after receiving "a number of preliminary and incomplete proposals", Chairman Robert Millner said in a statement.

"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," he said.

Xstrata was considering a major coal acquisition in Australia, the Australian Financial Review reported last month.

The interest follows a string of takeovers of Australian coal miners with Chinese, Indian and other offshore firms seeking to feed booming demand from Asian steel mills.

Peabody Energy has made a A$4.9 billion takeover bid for Macarthur Coal. New Hope shares were trading 72 cents higher at A$6.01 shortly after opening after initially hitting a high of A$6.50.

New Hope acquired Northern Energy after failing to secure a bid for Australia's Macarthur Coal last year.

Copyright Reuters, 2011