Aditya Birla Group in race for Australia’s Whitehaven Coal

The $29-billion diversified Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group is likely to bid for Australian coal miner Whitehaven Coal, the Business Standard today reported.

Citing three independent people with knowledge of the matter, the paper said that the group is among the shortlisted bidders and is now likely to make a formal bid.

Whitehaven had hired Goldman Sachs in October 2010 to run an auction, and as many as 20 buyers have shown interest in the Sydney-based coal company that is valued around $3.5 billion.

Among the interested bidders for Whitehaven are Anil Dhirubhai Ambani-promoted Reliance Power, a consortium of Korea Resources Corporation and Daewoo, China's Shenhua Energy, Yanzhou Coal and China Coal are reported to have put in their bids.

ASX-listed Whitehaven is Australia's leading coal producer having an interest in tenements covering approximately 427kms in the Gunnedah, Werris and Ashford Coal Basins of New South Wales.

It currently operates four open cut mines in the Gunnedah Basin, each of which produces around 1.5 million tonnes every year. Most of the coal produced from all these mines is exported.
 
Its Canyon mine produced 2.8Mt of saleable coal in FY2009, while its Narrabri North underground coal mine is under construction and expected to begin producing coal in early 2010.