Hong Kong-based commodity trader Noble Group's shareholders on April 19 did not approve the sale of the company's stake in Australian miner Gloucester Coal to low-volatile metallurgical coal producer Australia-based Macarthur Coal, followed by a notice by the independent directors of Gloucester Coal on April 20 asking its shareholders to take no action in relation to Macarthur Coal's offer.
The developments, which were publicized by Noble Group, Gloucester Coal and Macarthur Coal statements, terminate the planned deal in which Macarthur would take over Noble's 87.7 percent stake in Gloucester and Noble would take a near one-quarter stake in Macarthur.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Macarthur Coal Limited had announced on February 26 that its board confirmed a bid to takeover New South Wales-based Gloucester, which operates mines in the Hunter Valley and is largely owned by Hong Kong-based Noble Group. The coal producer was offering Gloucester shareholders 0.84 Macarthur shares for every one Gloucester share held or AU$8 a share. Gloucester recommended shareholders accept Macarthur's offer, while Macarthur rejected previous proposals by St. Louis, US-based coal giant Peabody Energy Corp and Australian coal producer New Hope, apart from the last one from Peabody which was considered.
On April 15 Peabody had for the second time revised its proposal to acquire the whole of Macarthur. The company revealed a sweetened third offer to takeover the company for AU$16 per share or a total of AU$4.1 billion (US$3.8 billion).