Gloucester Coal: Shareholders Should Take No Action On Macarthur Offer

Independent directors of Gloucester Coal Ltd. (GCL.AU) Tuesday said shareholders should take no action in relation to Macarthur Coal Ltd.'s (MCC.AU) bid for a majority stake in the company.

The announcement follows a decision on Monday by shareholders in Noble Group Ltd. (N21.SG) to reject Macarthur's offer for Noble's stake in Gloucester, a miner based in the north of Australia's New South Wales state.

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Gloucester said it would issue an updated statement on the situation "in due course" detailing any revised advice to shareholders.

"Gloucester will...consider the potential implications of the proposed takeover bid for outstanding Gloucester shares announced by Noble on 6 April 2010."

In December, Macarthur and Noble announced a deal, subject to shareholder approval, under which the Australian miner would acquire Gloucester Coal and make an associated transaction with Noble. The deal would have seen Noble gain a 24% stake in Macarthur.

But, in March, Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) made an unsolicited offer for Macarthur, which was initially rejected by Macarthur. The U.S. company since then has revised its offer and has said that it has the support of some of Macarthur's large shareholders.

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