Australia Coal Improving Global Market India Interest Coal Asset

Australian coal companies are takeover targets amid improving global markets and despite the bulk commodity being included in the federal government's planned new mining tax. Bowen Energy is yet to respond to Bhushan's offer. Brisbane-based Bowen Energy is also searching for uranium in Qld and in far north Western Australia. On Wednesday, Bowen Energy's largest shareholder Bhushan said it had made an unconditional 10 cents cash per share on-market takeover bid for the exploration minnow, which is exploring the Qld basin after which it is named.

Bhushan is listed on India's Bombay and National stock exchanges and has a market capitalisation of about $500 million. Bhushan said the cash offer would commence on October 7 and end a month later, but may be extended. Other Indian firms have joined entities from China, the US, Korea and Thailand in the hunt for Australian coal assets.

Bhushan said its offer represented a 79 per cent premium to Bowen's closing share price of 5.6 cents on Monday.

"The offer price is well above the preferred value of the shares (five cents per share) determined by Deloitte Corporate Finance Pty Ltd, the independent experts engaged by the company in October 2009," Bhushan said in its bidder's statement on Wednesday.

"The offer price represents a generous premium, having regard not only to the company's share price and preferred value, but also to the fact that Bhushan already owns 59.64 per cent of the company.

"The company (Bowen) owns coal exploration tenements and represents a risky investment."

Bhushan said it would de-list Bowen from the Australian stock exchange and continue the target's exploration activities if its bid was successful.

These include India's Adani Enterprises, which last month agreed to buy one of Linc Energy Ltd's non-core coal tenements in Queensland for $3 billion.

This has been the largest single investment by an Indian firm in Australia, Linc said at the time, according to Linc which said the companies could work cooperatively on underground coal gasification projects in the future.

New Delhi-based Jindal Steel & Power Ltd earlier this year failed to take over Rocklands Richfield Ltd, which is exploring for coal in Qld's Bowen Basin.

Jindal was vying with China's Meijin Energy Group to take over Rocklands, but wound up with a stake in the target, a seat on its board and a joint venture over three coal projects including a novel proposal to manufacture house bricks from coal waste.

Bowen's shares closed up 4.9 cents, or 87.5 per cent, at 10.5 cents - eclipsing the offer price and suggesting the market expects a higher bid, although the share trading was on low volumes.

"After completion of the acquisition of the company, Bhushan will conduct a review of the activities, assets and employees of the company in light of the information then available to it," Bhushan said.