Anglo-Swiss commodity trading and mining company Glencore has finalised the sale of its minority stake in Yancoal Australia, for $293m, reported Reuters.
The mining company divested its 6.4% stake in Yancoal Australia in a block trade, valued at A$422m ($293m), two sources familiar with the development told the news agency.
As part of the deal, Glenore offloaded 84.5 million shares at A$5 apiece, according to the sources.
With the transaction, the commodity trading company withdraws from the coal business.
Glencore was cited by the news agency as saying: “Glencore can confirm it has sold its 6.4% shareholding in Yancoal Australia Limited.
“We do not consider the shareholding to be a core asset for our business.”
One of the sources said that the deal was fully subscribed immediately after the firm opened the books.
The transaction comes almost a month after Chinese firm Yankuang Energy’s takeover offer for Yancoal was rejected by the shareholders of the latter and Glencore.
The Chinese firm offered $1.8bn to acquire the 37.7% of shares it did not own in Yancoal, representing a discount on the current market price.
Although the offer was rejected, Glencore maintained it would consider selling its stake at the ‘right price’.
Yancoal owns coal mines in Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia.
The firm had 819 million tonnes of saleable coal reserves and six billion tonnes of coal resources at the end of last year.
In a separate announcement, Glencore agreed on a coal supply deal with Japan’s Nippon Steel, at one of the country’s highest prices ever paid, reported Bloomberg News.
The miner agreed to supply thermal coal at $375 a tonne to Nippon Steel, the publication reported citing people with knowledge of the deal.
One of the sources said that the deal value is three times more than similar deals signed last year. It could be one of the costliest coal contracts ever signed by a Japanese firm.
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