The Australian reported that Jindal Steel & Power Limited has matched a takeover bid by its Chinese rival for Australian coking coal developer Rocklands Richfield, offering 56 cents a share.

China's Meijin Energy Group in late December raised its initial November offer to 56 cents, valuing Rocklands at AUD 197 million. Jindal has matched the bid, and is also offering 6 cents for each Rocklands option with an exercise price of 50 cents.

The tussle over Rocklands started in September this year, when the company announced a friendly takeover by Jindal at 42c a share.

Rocklands has coal tenements in Queensland that it estimates hold more than 900 million tonnes of coal and also operates a coking coal plant in eastern China.

(Sourced from theaustralian.com.au)