Increased offer wins Macarthur Coal

Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal have won over Macarthur Coal with a sweetened A$4.9bn (£3.2bn) offer, after a rival bidder failed to emerge for the Australian coal miner.

The higher bid appears set to seal the latest in a flurry of coal deals in Australia, with Chinese, Indian and global firms snapping up mines best positioned to feed booming demand from Asian steel mills.

Macarthur had pushed for a higher offer from the US coal giant Peabody and Luxembourg-based steel group ArcelorMittal, after fending off four takeover attempts in three years.