Posco acquires 10 per cent in Australian miner Macarthur; blocks ArcelorMittal's take-over chances

30 June 2008

Mumbai: Close on the heels of ArcelorMittal raising its stake in Australian coal mining  company Macarthur to 19.9 per cent, South Korea's Posco has agreed to buy a 10-per cent stake in Macarthur from the group's founder-shareholder Ken Talbot.

Posco, the world's fourth-largest steel maker, will pay A$20 a share or A$420 million ($404 million) for the 10 per cent stake, thereby also effectively blocking a possible takeover of the mining company.

The price is an 11 per cent premium to Macarthur's last week's closing share price of A$18 and matches the $20 a share paid by ArcelorMittal for the additional five per cent it bought.

ArcelorMittal's investment in Macarthur, which supplies steel mills with more than a third of the world's pulverised coal, now totals A$843 million.

The deal makes Posco the third largest overseas investor in the Australian miner after ArcelorMittal and China's CITIC Resources Holdings.

ArcelorMittal has a 19.9 per cent stake in the Australian coal miner while China's  CITIC Resources Holdings has a 17.66 per cent stake in Macarthur.
Reports had earlier speculated that ArcelorMittal may go for full control of Macarthur.