Whitehaven Coal Ltd and Aston Resources Ltd are considering a merger. The two Australian coal mining companies have been discussing a potential merger but there have been no definite decisions taken as yet said the team from Whitehaven Coal on Monday.
The statement was made by Tony Haggarty, the current Managing Director of Whitehaven Coal Ltd. He said that the discussions were as yet in early stages and there was no guarantee of success. He added that it was unclear as yet if the terms of such a potential transaction were likely to be suitable for the shareholders of the company.
Aston Resources also issued a company statement saying that while it was committed to its existing plans for growth of the company on a standalone basis they were also exploring other alternatives. The founder of Aston Resources is Nathan Tinkler. He holds a 38.24% stake in the coal mining company and is known to be a very astute businessman.
James Stewart an analyst at CLSA, said that the merger scenario did not make much sense to him. He added that given the personalities involved he was not convinced that either of the gentlemen would agree to be diluted in a merger agreement.
If the two coal miners do merge they will form the largest coal producer in Australia. Whitehaven is hoping to mine 15 million metric tons of coal annually by 2015 and Aston is likely to produce 12 million tons of coal annually by the 2015 as well.
Besides the coal production figures, they will be the largest mining company in the Gunnedah Basin which is the new coal region developing north of Hunter Valley. The two companies will also be able to combine their considerable rail and port capacities on the route to Newcastle coal harbour.