Anglo American Shares Fall as Peabody Walks Away from $3.8bn Coal Deal
Shares of Anglo American dipped on Wednesday after US mining giant Peabody Energy abruptly pulled out of a planned $3.8 billion acquisition of its steelmaking coal business.
Peabody said late Tuesday it had terminated the purchase agreement, citing a “material adverse change” triggered by a fire in March at the deal’s flagship Moranbah North Mine in Australia. The mine has remained closed since the incident, and the two companies failed to agree on compensation terms.
Anglo American, however, rejected Peabody’s reasoning and announced it would pursue arbitration to seek damages for what it described as the wrongful termination of the deal.
“Our position is supported by the lack of permanent damage to the mine and equipment, as well as the substantial progress made toward a safe restart,” Anglo’s chief executive Duncan Wanblad said in a statement.
By mid-morning trading in London, Anglo’s shares had slipped by around two percent on the FTSE 100 index.
The deal, unveiled in November 2024, was set to mark Anglo’s complete exit from steelmaking coal, aligning with its strategy to focus on higher-value commodities such as copper and iron ore. The company has been doubling down on these sectors after fending off a $49 billion takeover bid from rival miner BHP.
The exit would also have fit into a broader global shift away from coal. At last year’s COP29 climate summit, several countries committed not to build new unabated coal power plants — facilities that burn coal without carbon-capture technology.
