According to media reports, India-based steelmaker JSW Steel Limited is seeking to for a consortium to bid for a 75 percent stake in Canada-based Teck Resources’ coal unit, Elk View Resources. The company was interested in a 20 percent stake in the coal unit in July, according to Bloomberg.
The discussions are at very early stages and there is no confirmation that the talks would result in a deal. Analysts estimate that the value of the potential deal could be at $8 billion, rivalling an earlier offer by the rival Glencore.
Switzerland-headquartered international commodities producer and trader Glencore previously had initially offered $22.5 billion to merge with Teck Resources, though the company had declined that offer. Later on, the Swiss producer had submitted up to $8.2 billion in a bid to acquire the coal unit.
As SteelOrbis reported previously, JSW Steel was looking at acquiring iron ore and coking coal assets overseas, especially in Canada and Australia, to achieve higher raw material security and ensure at least 75 percent of raw material requirements from its own assets.
