Czech investors snap up majority stake in coking coal group Coronado

afr.com:

Coronado Global Resources has a new major shareholder, after American The Energy and Minerals Group finally gave up on Australian investors’ willingness to support pure play coal stocks.

The private equity firm has agreed to sell its 51 per cent stake in Coronado to Se.ven Global Investments in a deal that marks the Czech buyer’s third notable acquisition in Australia’s resources sector in the past year.

Coronado chairman Gerry Spindler in 2018, when the company listed on the ASX. Louie Douvis

Se.ven owns and runs coal-fired power stations in Europe and acquired the Vales Point coal-fired power station in NSW in September last year. Se.ven also acquired Western Australia’s Lake Way potash project from the administrators of collapsed company Salt Lake Potash last year.

Coronado owns the Curragh coal mine in Queensland and several other coal mines in the United States; it mostly produces coking coal for steelmaking, but also produces some thermal coal byproducts.

Se.ven’s move on Coronado comes at a time when several Queensland coking coal mines are up for sale; BHP is well advanced on selling the Daunia and Blackwater mines, while Baowu and South32 are trying to sell the Eagle Downs mine. South32 is also understood to be willing to part from its Illawarra coking coal mines in NSW for the right price.

The Blackwater mine is particularly attractive for Coronado given its proximity and potential logistics synergies with the Curragh mine, and Se.ven chief executive Alan Svoboda indicated it was keen to see Coronado continue to grow.

“We will support the company in continuation of its business strategy to grow and strengthen its position both in the US and Australia,” he said.

Sev.en’s Alan Svoboda 

BHP is understood to prefer