Japan's Fair Trade Commission has approved the joint Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU)-ArcelorMittal (MT) bid for Macarthur Coal Ltd. (MCC.AU), which values the Australian miner at A$4.73 billion, the bidders said Thursday.

The approval fulfils one of several conditions standing in the way of the bid, the companies said, although similar approval is still being sought from China's Ministry of Commerce.

Macarthur is the world's largest producer of pulverized coal injection coal, or PCI, a low-cost form of the coking coal used in steelmaking. Japan is one of the biggest consumers of the product, and any objection from the country's competition authorities would likely prevent the bid going ahead.

-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 2 8272 4689; david.fickling@dowjones.com

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