Eyes on Anglo’s Moranbah mine | CDC p osts IMs | Escala loses court bid

Good evening,

On Monday, LSE-listed Anglo American raised eyebrows when it announced sale of its share of the Jellinbah and Lake Vermont mines for $1.6 billion amid a whole-of-portfolio auction. Now, there are questions if the up-for-grabs Queensland coal portfolio could shrink further ahead of binding bids next week.

Sources told Street Talk Anglo American’s 88 per cent stake in Moranbah North, a longwall mine in the Bowen Basin, has pricked the ears of Japan’s largest steelmaker Nippon Steel which holds pre-emption rights from a circa 5 per cent stake in the mine.

While Nippon Steel’s interest in joining a bidder consortium as a minority investor is an open secret, the Japanese player is understood to have given serious thought to acquiring Anglo’s majority stake in Moranbah North alongside another Japanese player. However, it is unclear if Nippon’s interest in Moranbah has progressed, or if a deal will be agreed.

An Anglo American spokesperson declined to comment on Nippon Steel’s interest in Moranbah North when contacted by Street Talk on Tuesday.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

Street Talk can reveal CDC Data Centres′ bankers at Barrenjoey Capital Partners have begun distributing the information memorandum to prospective suitors, who’ve been told to lob non-binding indicative bids in the last week before Christmas.

Australian shares edged lower as the world counted down to the start of in-person voting in the US presidential election – considered the most anticipated market event of the year.

Click here for the latest equity market wrap.