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Australian firms take lead on Macarthur deal

Mallesons, Henry Davis York, Corrs and Freehills have each had a legal role as global steel giant ArcelorMittal and Peabody Energy teamed up for a $5.1 billion bid to acquire Macarthur Coal.

user iconThe New Lawyer 15 July 2011 Big Law
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MALLESONS, Henry Davis York, Corrs and Freehills have each had a legal role as global steel giant ArcelorMittal and Peabody Energy teamed up for a $5.1 billion bid to acquire Macarthur Coal. 


Australian law firms have taken lead role on the deal. 

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Macarthur previously rejected a $3 billion takeover bid by Peabody in March 2010, according to media reports, claiming the offer undervalued the Brisbane-based company. The company declined another offer by Australian coal mining rival New Hope in April. 

 

Corporate partners Teresa Handivott, Braddon Jolley and Jeremy Horwood from Corrs Chambers Westgarth advised Macarthur on the latest offer from Peabody. Peabody has now partnered with ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company and owner of a 16.2 per cent stake in Macarthur. 


Macarthur confirmed yesterday it has reached agreement with the companies, together called BidCo, on the timing and scope of a due diligence process to be undertaken to facilitate the proposed offer. 


Henry Davis York partners, Roger Dobson and James Lonie are acting as Australian counsel advising the lenders to Peabody Energy on its $4.7billion proposed takeover bid.


Mallesons is acting as legal adviser to ArcelorMittal S.A. in relation to the deal. The Mallesons M&A team is led by partners David Friedlander and Greg Golding, senior associate Paul Schroder and solicitors Mark Vanderneut and Amanda Isouard in the Sydney office and partner Robert Hanley, special counsel Joe Newitt and senior associate Jonathan Wood in the London office.


Also from Mallesons, assisting on the anti-trust aspects of the transaction are Sydney-based partner Sharon Henrick and solicitor Kione Johnson. Foreign investment approval advice is being provided by special counsel Malcolm Brennan in the Canberra office.  Tax support is being provided by partners Peter Fogarty and Phillip Davies, and senior associate Julian Roberts.  Partner Nuncio D'Angelo from the Sydney office is giving advice in relation to the banking and finance aspects of the transaction. 


St Louis-based Peabody is being advised by Freehills M&A partners Tony Damian and Andrew Rich in Sydney. 


RBC Capital Markets is acting as financial adviser to ArcelorMittal. The lenders are Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS in the US.


Any final deal for Macarthur will likely hinge on the approval of Beijing-based Citic, a company owned by the Chinese state that holds the largest stake in Macarthur at 24 per cent, Bloomberg reports. 


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