Latest news with #MoranbahNorth
Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Times
Anglo American seeks damages after Peabody Energy withdraws bid
Anglo American has said it will seek damages after Peabody Energy withdrew its $3.8 billion bid for the London-listed group's Australian coking coal assets. Peabody, an American coal mining company, pulled out of the deal after failing to renegotiate a lower price in light of a production pause caused by a fire. It had agreed to acquire the mines located in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, the world's leading region for steelmaking coal, as part of its strategy to become a producer of the key raw material. Operations at the Moranbah North mine were halted in April after an underground fire broke out due to high gas levels. That led Peabody to trigger a clause that allows it to break or renegotiate the deal if a significant negative event occurs between signing and completion. Peabody said in May that the incident represented a 'material adverse change' to its agreement to buy the assets from the London-listed group and that there was 'significant uncertainty around the transaction'. Jim Grech, Peabody's president and chief executive, said on Tuesday: 'The two companies did not reach a revised agreement to cure the material adverse change that compensated Peabody for the material and long-term impacts of the material adverse change on the most significant mine in the planned acquisition.' Anglo disputed that the fire and mine closure constituted a material adverse change, due to the lack of damage to the mine or equipment and progress made towards restarting the mine. 'We are therefore very disappointed that Peabody has decided not to complete the transaction,' Duncan Wanblad, Anglo's chief executive, said. Anglo said it would start arbitration proceedings, a dispute resolution method, to seek damages for what it claimed was wrongful termination. Wanblad said that given strong interest for the assets during the bidding process, Anglo was confident an alternative buyer could be found. Anglo had agreed to sell its steelmaking coal assets to Peabody as part of a wider restructuring prompted by BHP's $49 billion failed bid for the group in 2023. This has led it to sell or spin off non-core assets to focus on copper and iron ore. Shares in Anglo American rose by 40p, or 1.9 per cent, to £21.71.
Wall Street Journal
9 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Peabody Terminates Planned Acquisition with Anglo American
Peabody Energy BTU -2.62%decrease; red down pointing triangle said it has terminated its agreement to buy Anglo American's AAL 2.91%increase; green up pointing triangle steelmaking coal operations, a decision that comes nearly five months after a fire at an Australian mine. The British mining company had agreed to sell its steelmaking coal business-including the Moranbah North mine, where the fire broke out earlier this year-to St. Louis-based Peabody in November. Following the fire, though, Peabody said it was reviewing the roughly $3.8 billion buy.
Bloomberg
10 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Peabody to Pull Out of $3.8 Billion Deal for Anglo's Coal Assets
Anglo American Plc suffered a major setback to its restructuring plans after Peabody Energy Corp. decided to walk away from a $3.8 billion deal to buy its steelmaking coal business following a fire at an Australian mine. The two firms have sharply disagreed over the impact of the March incident at the Moranbah North mine, an asset which Peabody said made up a substantial part of the deal value. The US coal producer in May said the fire constituted a material adverse change that would give it reason to exit the deal, and last month said there was 'no credible timetable' for when operations would resume. Meanwhile, Anglo has said there's no mine or equipment damage.
Reuters
12-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Peabody's decision on $3.8 billion bid for Anglo American mines looms next week
MELBOURNE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Peabody Energy (BTU.N), opens new tab is set to reveal on August 19 whether it will continue with its $3.78 billion bid for Anglo American's (AAL.L), opens new tab Australian coking coal mines, as time ticks down for it to renegotiate a lower price for the deal. The U.S. miner last year agreed to buy the mines in Queensland's Bowen Basin, the world's top coking coal region, as part of its move into becoming a coking coal producer. But in March, the Moranbah North mine was closed due to high gas levels, leading Peabody to trigger a clause that allows a party to break or renegotiate a deal if a significant negative event occurs between signing and completion. In this case, it gave a 90 day consultation process which expired on August 3. Since it has not reached a revised agreement with the seller, Peabody intends to provide an update on August 19, it said at its results. "We believe a last minute deal has become less likely, and our base case now is that this goes to arbitration," Jefferies said in a note on Monday. The broker estimates a $316 million value hit if the Moranbah North mine is able to be ramped back to full capacity within three months from Sept 1. Anglo says the event does not qualify as significant since damages and downtime are likely to be limited. CEO Duncan Wanblad has said it is confident in its legal position, is prepared to rerun a sale process and next steps were up to Peabody. Part of the standoff is because it is unclear when the mine will be able to restart while the state regulator assesses its safety. The regulator did not provide a timeline when contacted by Reuters but said the mine was undergoing a "staged approach" to reentry as it prioritised worker safety. For Anglo, any arbitration would push back its restructure, and may raise concerns around mine management and choice of buyer. Another process would attract strong interest from previous bidders but would push back completion of a sale into 2026, Wanblad said. For Peabody, ending the deal would ease the pressure of looming repayments to a $2 billion dollar bridge loan due from late November. Peabody posted a second quarter loss as coal prices fell by a third from a year earlier. Peabody did not immediately comment outside office hours.
Yahoo
12-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Peabody's $3.8 billion bid on Anglo American mines looms next week
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Peabody Energy is set to reveal on August 19 whether it will continue with its $3.78 billion bid for Anglo American's Australian coking coal mines, as time ticks down for it to renegotiate a lower price for the deal. The U.S. miner last year agreed to buy the mines in Queensland's Bowen Basin, the world's top coking coal region, as part of its move into becoming a coking coal producer. But in March, the Moranbah North mine was closed due to high gas levels, leading Peabody to trigger a clause that allows a party to break or renegotiate a deal if a significant negative event occurs between signing and completion. In this case, it gave a 90 day consultation process which expired on August 3. Since it has not reached a revised agreement with the seller, Peabody intends to provide an update on August 19, it said at its results. "We believe a last minute deal has become less likely, and our base case now is that this goes to arbitration," Jefferies said in a note on Monday. The broker estimates a $316 million value hit if the Moranbah North mine is able to be ramped back to full capacity within three months from Sept 1. Anglo says the event does not qualify as significant since damages and downtime are likely to be limited and CEO Duncan Wanblad has said next steps were up to Peabody. Part of the standoff is because it is unclear when the mine will be able to restart while the state regulator assesses its safety. The regulator did not provide a timeline when contacted by Reuters but said the mine was undergoing a "staged approach" to reentry as it prioritised worker safety. For Anglo, any arbitration would push back its restructure, and may raise concerns around mine management and choice of buyer. Strong interest from previous bidders is expected and Anglo is prepared to rerun the process, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Anglo did not immediately reply to a request for comment. For Peabody, ending the deal would ease the pressure of looming repayments to a $2 billion dollar bridge loan due from late November. Peabody posted a second quarter loss as coal prices fell by a third from a year earlier. Peabody and Anglo did not immediately comment outside office hours. Sign in to access your portfolio
