ST. LOUIS and LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 13,
2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) and
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) today announced they have received
clearance from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of
China (MOFCOM) to proceed with the A$16.00 per share cash offer for all outstanding
shares of Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX: MCC).
This means that all necessary regulatory conditions to the
completion of PEAMCoal's offer have now been received.
"This action from MOFCOM now clears the way for us to complete
this transaction in a timely manner," said Peabody Energy Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H.
Boyce. "Our offer has been recommended by all the
participating members of the Macarthur Board and is a substantial
premium of 44 percent to the closing price on July 11, just
before our proposal was made public."
Aditya Mittal, CFO and Member of the Group Management Board at
ArcelorMittal, said, "It is now three months since we submitted our
initial proposal for Macarthur. Our offer remains the only one
before Macarthur shareholders, and we urge them to accept without
delay or risk missing out on a substantial premium for their
investment."
PEAMCoal also announced that it has established an Institutional
Acceptance Facility (IAF) to provide greater flexibility for
institutional shareholders to accept the offer. The IAF will be
operated by UBS. The IAF allows eligible institutional
Macarthur investors that do not wish to accept the offer until it
has become unconditional to indicate their intention to accept
prior to the offer becoming unconditional.
PEAMCoal will also pay broker handling fees to brokers who
initiate valid acceptances of the offer in respect of parcels of
Macarthur shares held by Macarthur's retail shareholders, on the
terms set out in the third supplementary bidder's statement.
There is no reason to delay acceptance. To maximise
the chance of receiving A$16.00 cash
for each Macarthur share they hold, Macarthur shareholders should
accept the PEAMCoal offer as soon as possible to help ensure
PEAMCoal obtains an interest in at least 50.01 per cent of
Macarthur shares by 7:00pm
(Brisbane time) on 28 October 2011.
PEAMCoal's offer is scheduled to close on 28 October 2011, unless extended. PEAMCoal
currently has a relevant interest in Macarthur of approximately
22.78%.
All participating members of the Macarthur Board have
recommended that Macarthur shareholders accept the PEAMCoal offer,
in the absence of a superior proposal. The PEAMCoal offer values
the equity in Macarthur at approximately A$4.8 billion.
Macarthur shareholders seeking further information regarding the
offer should contact PEAMCoal's Offer Information Line on 1800 992
039 (for callers within Australia)
or +61 2 8280 7692 (for callers outside Australia).
Peabody Energy Forward Looking Statement
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking
as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions
that the company believes are reasonable, but they are open to a
wide range of uncertainties and business risks that may cause
actual results to differ materially from expectations. These
factors are difficult to accurately predict and may be beyond the
company's control. The company does not undertake to update its
forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect results
include those described in this press release as well as risks
detailed in the company's reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
ArcelorMittal Forward Looking Statement
This document contains forward-looking information and
statements about ArcelorMittal and its subsidiaries.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "will,"
"believe," "expect" or similar expressions. Although
ArcelorMittal's management believes that the expectations reflected
in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and
holders of ArcelorMittal's securities are cautioned that
forward-looking information and statements are subject to numerous
risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and
generally beyond the control of ArcelorMittal, that could cause
actual results and developments to differ materially and adversely
from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the
forward-looking information and statements. These risks and
uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the filings
with the Luxembourg Stock Market Authority for the Financial
Markets (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier) and the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") made
or to be made by ArcelorMittal, including ArcelorMittal's Annual
Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31
December, 2010 filed with the SEC. ArcelorMittal undertakes
no obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
About Macarthur Coal
Macarthur Coal is a leading producer of low-volatile PCI
metallurgical coal with production and development assets in the
Bowen Basin, Australia, including
the Coppabella and Moorvale Joint Venture, Middlemount and
Codrilla. It holds total coal reserves of 270 million tonnes and
total resources of approximately 2.3 billion tonnes.
About Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal
company and a global leader in clean coal solutions. With 2010
sales of 246 million tons and nearly $7
billion in revenues, Peabody Energy fuels 10% of U.S. power
and 2% of worldwide electricity. For more information about
Peabody Energy visit:
www.peabodyenergy.com. Contact:
Vic Svec (+1 314
342-7768)
About ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is the world's leading integrated steel and
mining company, with operations in more than 60 countries. In 2010,
ArcelorMittal had revenues of US$78
billion and crude steel production of 90.6 million tonnes,
representing approximately 8% of world steel output.
ArcelorMittal's mining operations produced 47 million tonnes of
iron ore and 7 million tonnes of metallurgical coal as well in
2010. For more information about ArcelorMittal visit:
www.arcelormittal.com. Contact:
Giles Read (+44 20 3214
2845)
SOURCE Peabody Energy