MACARTHUR COAL REJECTS PEABODY BID

LAST month’s hottest takeover bid has finally dissolved.

Macarthur Coal Limited (MCC) has rejected Peabody Energy’s reduced $3.8 billion takeover proposal.

On May 10 Peabody undercut the proposed takeover value by $300 million amid market jitters around the Henry Tax Review and the European debt crisis, but in a statement today the MCC board recommended against the deal.

The MCC board have decided there is no basis for further engagement with Peabody, after major shareholder CITIC highlighted the company’s high long-term strategic value.

“CITIC believes that the long term strategic value of Macarthur Coal exceeds by a significant margin the cash offer price contained in (Peabody’s further proposal),” says a CITIC spokesperson in a statement.

CITIC currently holds 22.4 per cent of MCC shares, but the Brisbane miner hopes to buy back the Chinese group’s direct interest in certain operating assets.

Shareholders will vote on the CITIC transaction on June 30, in a deal which would also terminate CITIC’s marketing rights over Macarthur’s coal sold in China and India in exchange for a $110 million share issue.