Joy Global to buy 41 % of China's International Mining Machinery for $585 mn

Mining OEM equipment maker Joy Global Inc yesterday said that it will buy 41 per cent of China's International Mining Machinery Holdings Ltd (IMM), a maker of coal-mining equipment, for $585 million.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Joy Global will buy 41 per cent of Hong Kong-listed IMM at HKD 8.50 per share from TJCC Holdings Limited, a unit of New York-based private equity firm The Jordan Company.

Since under Hong Kong law, buying 41 per cent will trigger a mandatory offer for the rest of the company, Joy Global will make an offer for the remaining 59 per cent of IMM once the share purchase agreement is completed.

Beijing-based IMM, which has a market value of about $1.09 billion, is a leading designer and manufacturer of underground longwall coal mining equipment in China. Its products include roadheaders, shearers, armoured-face conveyors and related products, and electric control systems.

Its end customers include all of the 50 largest coal producers in China, which collectively account for approximately 60 per cent of the total coal production in China. In August 2010, IMM completed the acquisition of Qingdao Tianxun Electric Co to become a leading provider of a complete longwall system solution in China.

In December 2010, IMM entered into a joint venture with Shanxi Coal Transportation and Sales Group Co in order to meet the enormous demand for coal mining machinery in the rapidly consolidating coal mining market in Shanxi.