Australia's Rio Tinto Group confirmed Yancoal Australia as the buyer of its wholly owned subsidiary Coal & Allied Industries on Monday after it provided a further improved offer of $2.69 billion, according to media reports.
The China-backed company added extra incentives to fend off a last-minute challenge by its rival Glencore Plc, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Yancoal Australia, a subsidiary of China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Company, offered $240 million in royalty payments and an increased break fee to its previous $2.45 billion cash offer for the Hunter Valley coal mines, according to a statement from Rio Tinto on Monday, Bloomberg said.
The new offer from Yancoal Australia is more attractive than Glencore's bid because there is a better chance of speedy completion, Rio Tinto said, according to Bloomberg.
The success for Yancoal Australia would make it the biggest coal-only producer in Australia, the report said.
