Tuesday, October 25, 2011


ARCELORMITTAL ACCEPTS PEAMCOAL OFFER

• ArcelorMittal accepts the PEAMCoal offer for Macarthur Coal
• ArcelorMittal to remain a shareholder of PEAMCoal for a further 90 days
• Unconditional PEAMCoal offer for Macarthur remains on track

Luxembourg, October 25 - ArcelorMittal (NYST: MT) today provided notice to Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) that, in accordance with the Co-Operation and Contribution Agreement between the two companies, following its acceptance of PEAMCoal Pty Ltd’s offer for Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX: MCC) yesterday, it has terminated the Co-Operation and Contribution Agreement as provided for therein.

ArcelorMittal will remain a shareholder in PEAMCoal until the termination arrangements are completed which is expected to be in approximately 90 days’ time. In taking this decision, ArcelorMittal has determined that it would no longer be appropriate to allocate substantial capital to the acquisition of a non-controlling, minority business interest. This is in accordance with the rights that ArcelorMittal originally negotiated with Peabody at the time the Co-Operation and Contribution Agreement was concluded.

Given the unanticipated level of acceptances into the offer, ArcelorMittal believes that it is more appropriate to focus its capital elsewhere in its business. ArcelorMittal considers that the capital commitment that would be required to retain its Macarthur interest and grow it materially further, exceeds what is appropriate to allocate to a business that ArcelorMittal does not fully control and consolidate.

The unconditional PEAMCoal offer for Macarthur will not be affected by ArcelorMittal’s acceptance and will remain open until 7:00 p.m. (Brisbane time) on 11 November 2011 unless extended. ArcelorMittal will continue to perform its funding obligations to PEAMCoal until the termination takes effect as described in section 10.2(f) of PEAMCoal’s Bidder’s Statement for Macarthur.


About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading integrated steel and mining company, with operations in more than 60 countries. In 2010, ArcelorMittal had revenues of US$78 billion and crude steel production of 90.6 million tonnes, representing approximately 6% of world steel output. ArcelorMittal’s mining operations produced 47 million tonnes of iron ore and 7 million tonnes of metallurgical coal as well in 2010.

No comments: