St. Louis, Missouri-based Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal company, announced Wednesday that its subsidiary PEAMCoal Pty Ltd has acquired over 90 percent of all of the shares of Australian metallurgical coal producer Macarthur Coal. By acquiring 90 percent of the shares, PEAMcoal is compulsorily able to purchase the remaining shares.
Other shareholders such as South Korea's POSCO, which owns a 7.25 percent stake, will be forced to sell its shares to Peabody. The purchase price will also increase to A$16.25 (US$16.39) per share, up from A$16.00 (US$16.14) per share--Peabody had previously agreed to increase its offer price per share if it was able to acquire a 90 percent stake.