Greater China

Baosteel and Aurizon to jointly bid for Australian iron ore asset

Shanghai: China’s state-owned Baosteel Group and Aurizon Holdings, Australia’s largest haulage company, has joined together on bidding for iron ore and coal miner Aquila Resources for A$1.4bn.

Baosteel and Aurizon said they intend to make a joint offer worth A$3.40 a share for the shares in Aquila that they don't currently own. Baosteel already has a 20% stake in Aquila and is currently the second largest shareholder in the company.

"We believe, with Baosteel, that this is a very attractive project. The infrastructure would provide attractive returns for the owners of Aurizon. For Baosteel, of course, it secures further access to a very high quality, low cost iron-ore project and coal," said Aurizon chief executive Lance Hockridge .

China has started a new round of overseas acquisition of resources. China Minmetals Corporation last month led a group that agreed to acquire Glencore Xstrata Plc’s Las Bambas copper project for $5.85bn, while Citic Group agreed in February to buy a 13% stake in Alumina Ltd. [05/05/14]

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