UPDATE: Whitehaven In Discussions With Aston On Coal Merger

Australian coal miners Whitehaven Coal Ltd. (WHC.AU) and Aston Resources Ltd. (AZT.AU) are in discussions over a potential 4.65 billion Australian dollar (US$4.76 billion) merger, the companies said Monday.

Any deal would lift a combined company to the first rank of Australian coal producers. Whitehaven plans to be mining 15 million metric tons a year by 2015 while Aston hopes to build up to 12 million tons a year by the same date. That would give the two miners combined output comparable to that of Peabody Energy Corp.'s (BTU) Australian operations, which accounted for 27 million metric tons in 2010.

Both companies said the talks to create a "merger of equals" between the miners were "incomplete". In a statement, Whitehaven Managing Director Tony Haggarty said the discussions are at an early stage and there is no guarantee of success.

"It is unclear at this stage as to whether the terms of any such potential transaction would be suitable to put to Whitehaven shareholders," he said.

Aston said in a statement that the company was still committed to its existing plans, for "growth of the company on a standalone basis", but added that it was exploring "other alternatives".

Analysts questioned whether such a deal between two famously tough-minded management teams could work out.

"The merger scenario doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me," said James Stewart, an analyst at CLSA in Sydney. "Given the personalities involved, I' not convinced that either of these gentlemen would agree to be diluted in a merger agreement."

Aston's founder Nathan Tinkler has a 38.24% stake in the miner, and seized control of the company in a boardroom coup last month that saw him installed as Chairman.

He has a reputation as an astute dealmaker. Aston's main mine, Maules Creek, was bought for A$480 million from Rio Tinto PLC (RIO)-controlled Coal & Allied Industries Ltd. (CNA.AU) in 2009, but the company's 75% stake is now worth A$2.78 billion, based on the A$370 million that Electric Power Development Co. Ltd. (9513.TO), or J-Power, offered for a 10% stake last month.

Whitehaven's Haggarty is also known for driving a hard bargain. In May, the company gave up a seven-month search for a takeover suitor, saying that "no proposal is sufficiently attractive".

A combination would put together the two largest miners in the Gunnedah Basin, an emerging coal region north of the Hunter Valley, allowing them to combine rail and port capacity on the choked transport network to Newcastle, the world's largest export coal harbor.

At 0020 GMT, Aston shares were up 4.6% at A$9.53 and Whitehaven had climbed 1.8% to A$5.74.

-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]