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Mining giant acquires 80% stake in BHP Mitsui Coal
Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a Queensland-based mining company on its acquisition of all of the shares in Dampier Coal, giving it an 80 per cent ownership share of BHP Mitsui Coal.
Lauren Croft
Firm: Norton Rose Fulbright (Stanmore Resources Limited).
Value: US$1.35 billion.
Area: M&A.
Key players: NRF’s multi-jurisdictional team was led by partners Adam Edelman, David Jewkes and Keira Brennan. They were supported by partners Alen Pazin, Claire Forster and Adam Smith, as well as special counsel Herman Yip; senior associate Ellen Whittred; associates Mauricio Da Rocha, Kellie Hayman, Morgan Woodland, Laura Martin and Amelia Martin; and lawyers Chris Minus and Ellen Pen.
Deal significance: BMC owns several significant metallurgical coal mining projects, including South Walker Creek and Poitrel mines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, as well as the undeveloped Wards Well coal project. South Walker Creek and Poitrel together have metallurgical coal production of about 10 megatonnes per annum and total marketable reserves of over 135 megatonnes.
The acquisition is “transformational” for Stanmore, making it one of the largest mining companies in Queensland and one of Australia’s biggest metallurgical coal businesses. The deal is for US$1.2 billion in cash, with the potential follow-up payment of up to US$150 million after two years.
Commenting on the deal, Mr Edelman said: “We are delighted to support Stanmore on this transformational transaction for the Australian coal industry. This is the latest in a number of matters we have assisted the Stanmore team with, and we look forward to continuing to partner with them on the completion of this acquisition and the integration of the BMC business into Stanmore’s existing operations.
“As we are seeing with other industries such as real estate, M&A deal activity is lifting in the Australian resources industry, and we expect this will only continue in 2022.”
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
