By Rob Curran

Coal miner Peabody warned diversified miner Anglo American it may invoke a material-adverse-change clause to halt an up-to-$3.78 billion acquisition of Anglo's steelmaking coal assets.

Anglo American stopped production at the Moranbah North Mine in Queensland, Australia after a fire on March 31, following which elevated carbon-monoxide readings were detected. The London-based miner has not yet reopened the mine.

"While we have remained on track to complete the steelmaking coal acquisition from Anglo, the issues at Moranbah North have created significant uncertainty around the transaction," said Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Grech, in a statement. "A substantial share of the acquisition value was associated with Moranbah North, yet there is no known timetable for resuming longwall production."

Peabody said it may exit the deal if the Moranbah issue is not resolved under the time frame outlined for such events in the deal documents.

Anglo American agreed to sell the coal assets to St. Louis-based Peabody in November. It was the U.K.-based miner's first step in a plan to overhaul its operations following a takeover attempt from rival BHP Group.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2025 08:38 ET (12:38 GMT)

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