The $6.4-billion diversified Adani Enterprises, one of India's largest trading houses, is reported to be in talks with Australia's coal-to-liquids company Linc Energy to acquire its coal mine assets in Queensland for $1 billion.

The Economic Times reported citing two independent sources that the Gujarat-based Adani Enterprises' Singapore subsidiary Adani Global is close to finalising a deal worth $1 billion to acquire the coal assets in Queensland of Linc Energy.

The paper said that of the $1 billion, Adani is expected to give the first tranche of $435 million in the next few days, while the remaining will be paid over the next few months.

Based on The Economic Times report, Brisbane-based Linc Energy said in a statement that it is conducting negotiations with a several parties for the sale of its non-core Queensland coal tenements, but has not concluded any binding contract or finalised any material terms with any party.

Linc has been trying to hive-off its Emerald coal tenements known as Teresa located in Queensland since September 2008, and had then announced that it had signed a $1.5 billion heads of agreement with China's Xinwen Mining, but the global recession led to the deal collapsing.

By late April 2009, apart from Emerald coal tenements, Linc added its Galilee and Pentland coal assets to the sale.

Linc then entered talks with another Chinese company Yanzhou Coal Mining, which also broke down, forcing Linc to hire Swiss bank UBS in June 2009 to oversee the sale process.

Since then, UBS has lined up potential bidders from China and India, while London-based diversified mining company Anglo American, the world's largest mining company BHP Billiton and US coal miner Peabody Energy have also shown interest in the Queensland coal assets of Linc.

The Emerald, Galilee and Pentland coal mining tenements are spread over an area in excess of 10,000sq km with reserves in excess of 5 billion tones and could produce about 30 million tonnes of high quality thermal coal annually.

Global spot prices of coal have shot up to $105 per ton for June shipments with Asian prices higher after Swiss miner Xstrata fixing coal price for China at nearly $100 per ton in April 2010.

This has become the floor for the Asian spot market and analysts believe that thermal coal prices will go above $110 per ton by Q3.

Adani has grown from being a trading house to a diversified and dynamic business group with interests from infrastructural development to power, global trading, logistics and energy.

It is India's biggest private sector coal trader having a market share of 50 per cent and the Linc deal will help the group's plan of generating 20,000 MW of electricity.

Presently, Adani Power Limited (APL) is setting up a 4620 MW Mundra Thermal Power Station and executing 400 KV D/C transmission line of about 431 KM distance from Mundra to Dehgam.

APL is also executing ±500 KV Bi-Pole HVDC transmission line of about 800km distance from Mundra to Haryana for transmitting 2500 MW.

Adani Power Maharashtra Limited (APML), an 85.89-per cent subsidiary of APL is implementing 1980 MW Thermal Power Station.