Peabody To Acquire Anglo’s Australian Met Coal Assets

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 29,    Peabody announced this week that it has agreed to acquire Anglo American’s coal assets for $2.32 billion in cash. The deal will meaningfully accelerate the company’s transition to a global coal portfolio of seaborne metallurgical coal. The transaction is expected to close mid-2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

Peabody will make a $1,695 million payment to Anglo at closing and deferred payments totaling $625 million payable in four annual installments commencing on the first anniversary of the completion date. Peabody has also agreed to further contingent payments of up to $1 billion, subject to potential favorable future events, such as the reopening of the Grosvenor mine.

In total, Anglo will receive $2.78 billion for its remaining Australian coal assets, a portion of which would include $455 million from the sale of the Dawson mine to BUMA International, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Delta Dunia Group, in a back-to-back transaction.

“This transformative transaction presents a rare opportunity for Peabody to acquire premier steelmaking coal assets at a compelling valuation as we reweight our portfolio toward seaborne metallurgical coal,” Peabody President and CEO Jim Grech said. “The transaction is strategically aligned, immediately accretive and highly synergistic, positioning us to better serve the best metallurgical coal demand centers in the world. This transaction gives us a strong foundation to position the company for long-term success.”

The acquisition includes four metallurgical coal mines – Moranbah North, Grosvenor, Aquila, and Capcoal – located in Australia’s Bowen Basin, which is widely recognized for its high-quality metallurgical coal. Approximately 80% of the production from these mines is hard coking coal. The mines are complementary to Peabody’s existing Australian platform, including the Centurion mine, and are expected to produce approximately 11.3 million tons of primarily hard coking coal in 2026. The acquired mines have an average mine life greater than 20 years with 306 million tons of marketable reserves and an additional 1.7 billion tons of coal resources.

The acquisition is expected to transform Peabody’s metallurgical coal segment, increasing metallurgical coal production from an estimated 7.4 million tons in 2024 to an expected 21 – 22 million tons in 2026.