Macarthur Coal: Unlikely Gloucester/Noble Transaction Will Proceed In Current Form

Macarthur Coal Ltd.'s (MCC.AU) plans to exchange assets of Hong Kong-based commodities trader Noble Group Ltd. (N21.SG) for a 24% stake in the miner are unlikely to go ahead in their current form, the Brisbane-based miner said on Tuesday.

Macarthur was commenting after Noble's shareholders on Monday voted to reject Macarthur's bid for Noble's 87% stake in New South Wales-based coal miner Gloucester Coal Ltd. (GLC.AU).

Macarthur said in a statement its board is "currently considering the consequences" of the vote for the Gloucester bid, and for a linked offer to acquire Noble's interests in their jointly owned Middlemount coal mine in Queensland state.

"Macarthur's expectation is that given the result of the meeting, it is now unlikely that the Gloucester/Noble transactions will proceed in their current form," the statement said.

Reports have suggested that Swiss-based miner Xstrata was interested in a takeover of Macarthur, but the statement said Macarthur's board had "not received any proposal from Xstrata or its representatives".

-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; 612-8272-4689; [e-mail]