While Felix has not confirmed that China’s Yanzhou Coal Mining is the buyer, several media sources have stated Yanzhou has offered Felix less than $A20 per share.
The Australian said it understood the offer to be about $18 cash.
When Felix suspended trading yesterday morning, its share price was at $16.90. Yanzhou has also entered a trading halt.
If the deal goes ahead, with an announcement expected at the end of this week, the sale will be worth about $3.5 billion.
The deal will require approval by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.
Yanzhou already has interests in Australia, having bought the Southland (now Austar) longwall top coal caving mine from Gympie Gold for $US23 million in 2004 after a fire ravaged the colliery the previous Christmas.
