Peabody Energy, ArcelorMittal receive final regulatory clearance from China's commerce ministry to proceed with AU$16/share cash offer to buy Macarthur Coal

Rachel Carter

ST. LOUIS and LUXEMBOURG , October 13, 2011 (press release) – PEAMCoal Establishes Institutional Acceptance Facility

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) and ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) today announced they have received clearance from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) to proceed with the A$16.00 per share cash offer for all outstanding shares of Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX: MCC).

This means that all necessary regulatory conditions to the completion of PEAMCoal's offer have now been received.

"This action from MOFCOM now clears the way for us to complete this transaction in a timely manner," said Peabody Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H. Boyce. "Our offer has been recommended by all the participating members of the Macarthur Board and is a substantial premium of 44 percent to the closing price on July 11, just before our proposal was made public."

Aditya Mittal, CFO and Member of the Group Management Board at ArcelorMittal, said, "It is now three months since we submitted our initial proposal for Macarthur. Our offer remains the only one before Macarthur shareholders, and we urge them to accept without delay or risk missing out on a substantial premium for their investment."

PEAMCoal also announced that it has established an Institutional Acceptance Facility (IAF) to provide greater flexibility for institutional shareholders to accept the offer. The IAF will be operated by UBS. The IAF allows eligible institutional Macarthur investors that do not wish to accept the offer until it has become unconditional to indicate their intention to accept prior to the offer becoming unconditional.

PEAMCoal will also pay broker handling fees to brokers who initiate valid acceptances of the offer in respect of parcels of Macarthur shares held by Macarthur's retail shareholders, on the terms set out in the third supplementary bidder's statement.

There is no reason to delay acceptance. To maximise the chance of receiving A$16.00 cash for each Macarthur share they hold, Macarthur shareholders should accept the PEAMCoal offer as soon as possible to help ensure PEAMCoal obtains an interest in at least 50.01 per cent of Macarthur shares by 7:00pm (Brisbane time) on 28 October 2011.

PEAMCoal's offer is scheduled to close on 28 October 2011, unless extended. PEAMCoal currently has a relevant interest in Macarthur of approximately 22.78%.

All participating members of the Macarthur Board have recommended that Macarthur shareholders accept the PEAMCoal offer, in the absence of a superior proposal. The PEAMCoal offer values the equity in Macarthur at approximately A$4.8 billion.

Macarthur shareholders seeking further information regarding the offer should contact PEAMCoal's Offer Information Line on 1800 992 039 (for callers within Australia) or +61 2 8280 7692 (for callers outside Australia).

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