JSW Steel considers 75% interest in Teck's coal business: Report

livemint.com:

JSW Steel Ltd is considering picking up a 75% interest in Teck Resources' steelmaking coal business Elk Valley Resources, according to a Bloomberg report. Bloomberg had reported in July that the Mumbai-based company was interested in up to 20% of Teck’s coal business. The potential deal could value the business at $8 billion, said Bloomberg, rivaling an earlier bid by Swiss commodities giant Glencore.

According to Bloomberg, Teck said it had received a number of indications of interest in its coal operations, without naming the parties. Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. had agreed to take a stake in a spun-off Elk Valley Resources in February before Teck dropped the plan to split its coal and metals businesses.

Earlier this month, Glencore underlined its continued interest in a deal by holding back $2 billion for a potential purchase of the Canadian miner’s coal business — cash it would otherwise have returned to shareholders. A deal could value the coal business at more than $8 billion and JSW has been sounding out banks about financing for a potential offer, according to the people. Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty an agreement will be reached, they said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Representatives for JSW and Teck declined to comment. Any JSW consortium could yet face competition for the coal asset from Glencore, which in June proposed buying the business for about $8 billion as an alternative to a full takeover of Vancouver-based Teck. *With inputs from agencies