Posted on 21 Aug 2025
Peabody Energy has terminated its $3.78 billion planned purchase of Anglo American’s steelmaking coal assets, citing a material adverse change (MAC) after a March ignition event at the Moranbah North mine in Australia, Kallanish notes.
The US coal producer says in a statement the incident, which has yet to be fully explained and has no timeline for resuming longwall production, undermined the transaction.
"The two companies did not reach a revised agreement to cure the MAC that compensated Peabody for the material and long-term impacts of the MAC on the most significant mine in the planned acquisition," says Jim Grech, Peabody president and chief executive officer.
The deal had been scheduled to close in April, but Anglo has estimated holding costs of $45 million a month at Moranbah North since the March 31 incident. The mine had been expected to produce 5.3 million tonnes of saleable coal in 2025.
Peabody also dropped an associated agreement to sell the Dawson mine to PT Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama.
In a separate statement Anglo rejected Peabody’s claim of a MAC, insisting the event did not damage mine infrastructure and that restart plans are progressing under regulatory oversight.
“We are very disappointed that Peabody has decided not to complete the transaction,” says Duncan Wanblad, Anglo's chief executive officer, adding the company would seek damages for wrongful termination through arbitration.
He says Anglo had shown “great flexibility” in recent months to accommodate Peabody, including proposing amended terms, and will now focus on restarting Moranbah North and relaunching a sales process. “The unsolicited inbound interest expressed to the firm in recent months is testament to the strategic value of these assets,” he says.
He adds that after Peabody’s withdrawal, Anglo would focus on safely restarting Moranbah North and maximising value from its broader steelmaking coal portfolio.
Source:Kallanish
