Whitehaven won over the Coalworks board after increasing its takeover price marginally from $142 million to $145.6 million just after mining magnate Nathan Tinkler put in a preliminary privatisation bid for the 78.6% of Whitehaven he did not already own.

Whitehaven made the Coalworks offer unconditional and agreed to distribute Coalworks' 33% in Orpheus Energy to Coalworks shareholders, which effectively added another 2.5c to the $1-a-share offer price.

“The deal puts the icing on the cake for Tinkler who, over the past 8 months, has managed to roll two boards, including CWK and his own company Aston Resources, to position himself as potentially one of the major controllers of NSW coal assets with his tentative bid for WHC,” Foster Stockbroking said in a report.

Whitehaven inherited a 17% share in Coalworks after its $5.1 billion merger with Aston and Boardwalk Resources.

Coalworks completed a prefeasibility study at the Vickery South coking and thermal coal project, for which it also made a strategic land acquisition to position the project for infrastructure access, with production expected to commence in 2015.

Coalworks also owns a share of the Ferndale project in the Hunter Valley and the Oaklands project in southwest NSW.

“With regards to Vickery South, Whitehaven intends to analyse its optimal development path, taking into consideration Whitehaven’s Vickery project,” Whitehaven said in its bidder’s statement.

“With regards to Ferndale, Whitehaven intends to continue the work which has started following the acquisition of Boardwalk, which involves analysing various development options for this asset.

“With regards to Oaklands North, Whitehaven will analyse the work done to date by Coalworks, determine the economic viability of any potential project and make a decision on this project which is in the best interest of Whitehaven shareholders.

“Whitehaven has no present intention to sell any specific part of the business or assets of Coalworks or to downsize any specific part of the business.”