MELBOURNE, Dec 5 (Reuters) - China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd is in talks to buy Australian coal producer Felix Resources Ltd for more than A$3 billion ($1.9 billion), the Australian Financial Review said on Friday.
Felix declined immediate comment on the report, but said it would make a statement later in the day to clarify the situation.
'The company's going to put out a statement very shortly which will clarify the press speculation. Before market open,' a company spokesman said.
The Australian Financial Review said Yanzhou was in talks to buy Felix for more than A$3 billion ($1.9 billion),
A source involved in the matter, but unauthorised to speak publicly about it, said the Felix statement would not name Yanzhou.
Felix said in October that an unnamed party was performing due diligence on the company and noted at the time that the interest was incomplete, non-binding and conditional.
'It's going to clarify the press speculation in relation to one party conducting extensive due diligence on the company. It's clarifying the press speculation but it's not going into substantive detail,' he said.
The paper, quoting industry sources, said executives from Yanzhou Coal were at Felix's Ashton open-cut coal operation in New South Wales state on Thursday as part of due diligence.
Felix shares have tumbled 75 percent from peaks around A$22 hit in early June as coal prices retreated amid the global financial crisis, though the paper said major shareholders' price expectations were still based on 'fundamental values', which analysts have pegged at well over A$15 a share.
At A$15 a share, Felix would be valued at A$2.94 billion. It closed at A$5.44 on Thursday.
For details of newspaper report see:.
(Reporting by Miranda Maxwell, editing by James Thornhill and Mark Bendeich) Keywords: FELIX/ANNOUNCEMENT (james.thornhill@reuters.com; +61-2-9373-1816; Reuters Messaging: james.thornhill.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Felix declined immediate comment on the report, but said it would make a statement later in the day to clarify the situation.
'The company's going to put out a statement very shortly which will clarify the press speculation. Before market open,' a company spokesman said.
The Australian Financial Review said Yanzhou was in talks to buy Felix for more than A$3 billion ($1.9 billion),
A source involved in the matter, but unauthorised to speak publicly about it, said the Felix statement would not name Yanzhou.
Felix said in October that an unnamed party was performing due diligence on the company and noted at the time that the interest was incomplete, non-binding and conditional.
'It's going to clarify the press speculation in relation to one party conducting extensive due diligence on the company. It's clarifying the press speculation but it's not going into substantive detail,' he said.
The paper, quoting industry sources, said executives from Yanzhou Coal were at Felix's Ashton open-cut coal operation in New South Wales state on Thursday as part of due diligence.
Felix shares have tumbled 75 percent from peaks around A$22 hit in early June as coal prices retreated amid the global financial crisis, though the paper said major shareholders' price expectations were still based on 'fundamental values', which analysts have pegged at well over A$15 a share.
At A$15 a share, Felix would be valued at A$2.94 billion. It closed at A$5.44 on Thursday.
For details of newspaper report see:.
(Reporting by Miranda Maxwell, editing by James Thornhill and Mark Bendeich) Keywords: FELIX/ANNOUNCEMENT (james.thornhill@reuters.com; +61-2-9373-1816; Reuters Messaging: james.thornhill.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.