Bloomberg reported that Rocklands Richfield Ltd has terminated takeover negotiations with Jindal Steel & Power Ltd by saying that the Indian company’s bid for the Australian coal explorer is commercially unacceptable and not in shareholders’ interest.

Mr Benny Wu chairman of Rockland said in the statement that “RCI has invested substantial senior management time and other resources in its extensive discussions with Jindal but, based on the latest Jindal proposal, the board no longer considers that it is in the best interests of RCI shareholders for RCI to continue these discussions.”

RCI said it is confident in its growth prospects given an improved global outlook for metallurgical coal and that its directors are now considering future strategic opportunities for RCI under its current ownership structure.

Rocklands controls three coking coal projects in Queensland state and a processing plant at Huaibei in eastern China that produces coking coal.

JSPL in December increased its bid for Rocklands to 56 Australian cents a share, matching a rival offer from China’s Meijin Energy Group valuing Rocklands at AUD 197 million.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)