Australian coal miner Coronado Global Resources confirmed on Wednesday it was in confidential discussions with Peabody Energy Corp regarding a potential “combination transaction”.
The Australian, citing sources, reported on Tuesday that discussions were happening in New York, but said there was no clarity on the nature of these talks.
As of Tuesday’s close, Coronado had a market capitalization of A$3.26 billion ($2.05 billion), while US-based Peabody was valued at $3.80 billion.
Stocks of both coal miners have sharply rallied this year, as customers from Europe to Asia scramble for alternative sources of fuel in the aftermath of the European Union’s sanctions on gas-rich Russia.
Coronado had held merger talks with US-based peer Arch Resources Inc earlier this year, but that didn’t materialize into a deal.
Coronado, which owns coal mining facilities in Virginia and West Virginia state, said no agreement had been reached with Peabody and it did not divulge any details on a potential deal.
Peabody did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
($1 = 1.5936 Australian dollars)
(By Harish Sridharan; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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