Peabody and ArcelorMittal to carry out due diligence for Macarthur acquisition

On July 14, St. Louis, Missouri, US-based Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal company, and Luxembourg-based global steel giant ArcelorMittal have announced that they have reached an agreement on due diligence process regarding the proposal for the acquisition of the world's largest producer of low volatile pulverized coal injection-type coal for steelmaking, namely, Australia-based Macarthur Coal Ltd (Macarthur).
 
According to the agreement, Peabody and ArcelorMittal will improve the indicative proposal by allowing a dividend of 16 cents per share to be paid to Macarthur shareholders without reducing the price per share and they will also reduce the number of conditions attached to the proposal.
 
On the other hand, Macarthur will provide due diligence and site visits to Peabody and ArcelorMittal, starting July 18, 2011.
 
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Peabody and ArcelorMittal have jointly submitted a proposal to the board of directors of Queensland, Australia-based Macarthur Coal Ltd to acquire all the shares of the company.