Has China's Shenhua Group acquired 10 per cent of Centennial Coal?
The Australian has reported that one of the world's largest coal companies, China's Shenhua Group, is thought to have bought a 10 per cent stake in Centennial Coal (ASX: CEY).
A buyer is thought to have taken a 10 per cent stake in Centennial Coal after a large trade of shares in the Sydney miner at a substantial premium, sending Centennial shares soaring.
Centennial shares jumped almost 25 per cent in early trade to $4.92 after it noted the "special crossings" of 39.48 million shares at $5 -- a 25 per cent premium to yesterday’s closing price of $3.99.
The miner said it was unaware of the identity of the buyer or buyers of the stock, but it is understood JP Morgan is behind the trade for the buyer.
There is speculation the buyer could be China-based and is believed to not be looking to takeover Centennial but could increase its stake up to the 15 per cent Foreign Investment Review Board limit.
The move comes amidst analyst fears of reduced overseas investment in Australian miners due to the Rudd government's proposed "super tax" unveiled Sunday as part of the Henry tax review.
US coal giant Peabody Energy spooked the market on Monday when it said it was assessing the impact of the proposed tax on its $4.1 billion takeover bid for Queensland miner Macarthur Coal.
Peabody, the world's dominant producer of coal for use in blast furnaces, has told Macarthur that it is “working through the impact'' of the tax plans on its $16-a-share bid for Australia's biggest coal exporter.
Source: The Australian
Later in the day, it was revealed that the buyer was in fact Banpu Public Company Limited, Thailand’s biggest coal producer, which notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand that it has acquired a long term strategic stake of 14.9% in Centennial.
Banpu has operations in Indonesia and its investments in China.
Established as a coal-mining venture in Thailand in the early 1980s, Banpu has since expanded into Indonesia and China. In 2008 Banpu sold around 18.5 million tonnes of coal from existing assets and plans to sell approximately 20.5 million tonnes of coal this year from Indonesian coal mines.
The acquisition of shares in Centennial is indicative of the intense interest in coal assets located in Australia by energy companies to supply power-strapped Asian markets including India, Indonesia and China.
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