X2 Resources, the private-equity firm founded by former Xstrata Ltd. chief Mick Davis, has emerged as the last remaining bidder for control of two Rio Tinto Group coal mines in Australia, people with knowledge of the matter said.
X2 is progressing in negotiations with Rio as the other interested parties, including Glencore Plc and New Hope Corp., are no longer in talks to buy the assets in New South Wales state’s Hunter Valley region, according to the people. The mine stakes may fetch more than A$3 billion ($2.2 billion), one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.
Rio Chief Executive Officer Sam Walsh has sold $4.5 billion of less-profitable assets since January 2013, reducing its coal portfolio amid falling prices in order to focus on larger iron ore and copper operations. Any deal would be the first purchase for Davis’s X2 fund since he raised several billion dollars from investors to pursue mining acquisitions.
New Hope, which agreed last month to buy Rio’s 40 percent stake in the Bengalla coal venture in Australia for $606 million, isn’t pursuing the other mines Rio is selling in the country, according to the people. Glencore, which lost as much as $14 billion in market value last month, is also no longer active in the Rio process as its focus has shifted away from acquisitions, the people said.
Hunter Valley
Rio could reach an agreement on the sale of the two mine stakes as early as year’s end, according to one person. Rio is still open to offers and it’s possible other suitors may yet emerge, another person said.
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