ArcelorMittal increases shareholding in Macarthur Coal to 19.9%

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Jun 2008

ArcelorMittal today announces that it has increased its stake in Macarthur Coal Limited (ASX: MCC) from 14.9% to 19.9%, following the acquisition of a further 5 % stake (10,607,830 shares) from Talbot Group Holdings. The shares were purchased at $ AUD 20, bringing ArcelorMittal’s total investment in Macarthur Coal to $ AUD 843 million. The purchase is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval.
The acquisition of this holding is in line with ArcelorMittal’s strategy of securing its supply of raw materials, in this case through the acquisition of a stake in a leading supplier of low volatile pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal.
About Macarthur Coal
The Company is Queensland-based with its mining assets situated in Queensland’s Bowen Basin and its corporate headquarters located in Brisbane.
Macarthur Coal is a key supplier of low volatile PCI coal to the steel mills of Asia, Europe and the Americas, providing approximately 44% of the low volatile PCI coal exported from Australia.
The Company’s major assets are Coppabella Mine and Moorvale Mine. Macarthur Coal has large exploration tenement holdings which provide a project pipeline for the development of new mines.
Macarthur Coal’s mines and exploration tenements are held within unincorporated joint ventures, a structure which has allowed the Company to gain significant strategic benefits by involving other parties in its projects.
About ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is the world's largest integrated metals and mining company, with over 310,000 employees in more than 60 countries.
ArcelorMittal is the leader in all major global markets, including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with leading R&D and technology, as well as sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and outstanding distribution networks. An industrial presence in over 20 countries across 4 continents exposes the company to all the key steel markets, from emerging to mature.
ArcelorMittal key financials for 2007 show revenues of USD 105.2 billion, with a crude steel production of 116 million tonnes, representing around 10 per cent of world steel output.
ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris ( MTP), Brussels (MTBL), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

Source: ArcelorMittal