Yancoal to buy chunk of Rio
Rio Tinto agrees to offload thermal coal assets in Australia for $2.45bn
London/Melbourne — Rio Tinto Group agreed to sell its thermal coal assets in Australia’s Hunter Valley for as much as $2.45bn as the world’s second-biggest mining firm accelerates its move away from the fuel. Rio will sell its Coal & Allied Industries subsidiary to Yancoal Australia, controlled by China’s Yanzhou Coal Mining, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The deal, subject to Australian government approval, includes an initial $1.95bn cash payment and $500m in annual instalments of $100m over five years following completion. Yancoal said that the acquisition would make it Australia’s largest pure-play producer of the commodity. Rio has sold at least $7.7bn in assets since 2013 as it sought to weather the downturn in commodities that was sparked by China’s slowing growth and a glut of raw materials. It has been shedding its Australian coal assets since dismantling its energy division in 2015 and the deal with Yancoal includes its biggest producing mine, Hunter Valley Operations....
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