Miner Anglo American (AAL.L) is contemplating a bid for Australia's Macarthur Coal (MCC.AX) that would challenge U.S. coal company Peabody Energy's (BTU.N) earlier offer for the Australian mining firm, according to a Bloomberg report. Anglo, one of Australia's top producers of coal, is looking into Macarthur's finances, the Bloomberg report said, citing an unnamed person with knowledge of the matter. In July, Peabody, the largest U.S. coal company, had teamed up with ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS), the world's top steelmaker, to offer $5 billion for Macarthur Coal in a bid to secure its resources of pulverized coal, a key steelmaking ingredient. The U.S. coal company and ArcelorMittal launched a hostile A$4.7 billion ($5.2 billion) bid for Macarthur Coal on Aug. 1 after the Australian target's board said the approach undervalued the company and it was working on attracting a rival offer. Xstrata (XTA.L), Vale (VALE5.SA), BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) have been cited as potential acquirers for the mining company, which has Chinese firm Citic Resources (1205.HK) as its biggest single shareholder.
Peabody Energy Corporation is a coal company. The Company owns majority interests in 28 coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia. Shares of BTU fell by 2.63% or $-1.16/share to $42.91. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $40.79 and as high as $73.95. On average, 5764290 shares of BTU exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5789206.
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