Ian Waldie/Bloomberg NewsTony Haggarty, chief of Whitehaven Coal.
LONDON — The coal developer Aston Resources said on Monday that it was in discussions with another Australian miner, Whitehaven Coal, on a potential merger valued at almost $5 billion.
Aston, headquartered in Brisbane, has an 85 percent stake in the Maules Creek Project in Western Australia that is highly valued because of its large resources of thermal coal. Despite growing concerns about the global economy, commodity prices — particularly for materials used to fuel fast-growing countries like China and Brazil — have continued to increase.
“Aston remains committed to its stated strategies and growth of the company on a stand-alone basis,” the company said in a statement. “However, the Aston board continues to explore other alternatives available to it to maximize value for Aston shareholders.”
Aston and Whitehaven, based in Sydney, said no agreement had yet been reached.
The announcement comes a month after Aston replaced its management team, including the chief executive, Todd Hannigan, a former manager at the mining giant Xstrata, and after the resignation of the company’s chief financial officer, Tom Todd.
The markets reacted positively to the news. By the end of trading in Australia, Aston’s share price had risen 4.17 percent, valuing the company at $1.98 billion. Whitehaven reported a smaller increase of 1.24 percent, giving the company at market capitalization of $2.88 billion.
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7ce99eb88f8ab7f269a6350385e713ae
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