Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) Completes Acquisition of Macarthur Coal
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Peabody Energy
today announced that it has completed the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Macarthur Coal Limited and holds 100 percent of the company. Peabody has notified the Australian Securities Exchange to delist Macarthur.Peabody's pro forma Australia sales including the acquisition volumes were 32 million tons in 2010. Pro forma sales are targeted to grow to 45 to 50 million tons by 2014 to 2015, including 22 to 25 million tons of metallurgical coal, which places Peabody Energy among the top tier of global met coal producers.
'The Macarthur purchase advances Peabody's strategy of expanding our global platform to serve major global demand centers and raising our contribution from higher-margin international assets,' said Peabody Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H. Boyce. 'Our focus now is on driving integration and operations improvement and completing expansion projects.'
Macarthur has a number of mine development and infrastructure projects under way in addition to its existing Coppabella and Moorvale mines.
The Middlemount joint venture
surface mine has recently
completed the 16.5 kilometer
rail spur linking the project to
the Goonyella Rail System and
has secured an additional mining
lease to support expanded
production capacity. The mine
began producing this year and is
expected to annually produce
more than 4 million tons of
semi-hard coking coal and low-
volatile PCI coal (on a 100
percent project basis) by 2014.
Remaining construction includes
a preparation plant upgrade
targeted for completion in early
2012.
In addition, the Queensland
Government has just announced
the completion of the Goonyella
to Abbot Point Expansion rail
project. The line links the
Goonyella and Newlands rail
systems, increasing the capacity
of Queensland's coal exports
through the Abbot Point Coal
Terminal and improving
efficiency and flexibility of
coal exports.
Macarthur Coal has agreements to
access the line to export coal
produced from the Middlemount
Coal project in 2012 through
Abbot Point.
The Codrilla Mine development
continues to advance. The mine
is expected to produce
approximately 3.5 million tons
of low-volatile PCI coal
annually (on a 100 percent
project basis) with targeted
completion in 2014. The company
has the required rail capacity
and existing port capacity
through Dalrymple Bay Coal
Terminal.
Peabody continues to pursue
infrastructure options to
support its growth platform.
In December, Peabody and its
affiliates secured Preferred
Respondent Status for potential
access to nearly 20 million tons
of annual capacity in the Abbot
Point Coal Terminal expansion as
part of a consortium.
Discussions to evaluate
commercial terms and development
plans with the North Queensland
Bulk Ports Corporation are under
way.
Peabody has established cross-functional teams to realize synergies through blending, sales and marketing, purchasing, infrastructure and capital project development.
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 fuels 10 percent of U.S. power and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.
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.
CONTACT:
Vic Svec
(314) 342-7768
Peabody Energy
Web site: http://www.peabodyenergy.com/