Noble Group - a global commodity trader for agricultural, industry and energy products - has acquired an additional 4.3 million shares in Australian coal miner Gloucester Coal Limited, thus raising its stake in the company to 8.2 million shares or 10.4 percent and making it the largest shareholder in the coal miner.
Noble believes that a structural shift in coal market has resulted in the higher thermal and coking coal prices.
Noble's main rival for the stake in Gloucester Coal was Xstrata, which in the opinion of Noble undervalued the company.