Whitehaven set to win BHP’s Queensland coal auction
Whitehaven Coal has defeated rival bidders to buy BHP’s two Queensland coal mines, Daunia and Blackwater, Street Talk can reveal.
BHP has sold two of its Queensland mines, Daunia and Blackwater, but has kept its most valuable coking coal mines, including Goonyella, Riverside, Peak Downs and Saraji. AFR
The deal, which is expected to be announced as early as Wednesday morning, would see Whitehaven buy both the assets. It is proceeding with the acquisition despite an opposition campaign run by one of its investors, Bell Rock Capital.
The auction’s final leg saw Whitehaven compete with at least two rival bidders, BUMA and Stanmore Resources. BHP and its sell-side adviser, Macquarie Capital, received bids from several other parties including Peabody Energy, Yancoal Australia and Coronado Global Resource – all of which eventually dropped out as the auction progressed.
Blackwater and Daunia landed on the auction block after The Australian Financial Review revealed BHP lobbied the Queensland government to amend the 54-year-old legislation governing the eight mines within its BHP Mitsubishi Alliance to make them easier to sell. They are deemed to produce the world’s best coking coal for steel-making. While BHP was advised by Macquarie Capital, Mitsubishi leaned on Rothschild & Co.
BHP has already exited its interest in Queensland’s South Walker Creek and Poitrel coal mines that it owned with Mitsui, selling them to Stanmore.
The mining giant has traditionally been big on iron ore and coal, but has pushed into “future facing” commodities like copper and nickel.
Read more on afr.com
