Winsway Seeks More Mines as It Concludes Grand Cache Purchase

Winsway Coking Coal Holdings Ltd. (1733), which processes and transports coal to China from Mongolia, is seeking mines in Australia, Canada and Russia as it concludes the purchase of Canadian miner Grande Cache Coal Corp. (GCE)

“You should expect some additional activity as far as acquisitions are concerned,” Executive Director Paul Struijk, who oversees acquisitions, said today in an interview in Hong Kong. He declined to provide details about potential targets.

Winsway, which is buying Calgary-based Grande Cache jointly with Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. for about C$1 billion ($1 billion), said today the majority of its shareholders voted in favor of the deal in a meeting in Hong Kong, clearing the last hurdle. Hong Kong-listed Winsway will have 60 percent of the company, with Marubeni holding the remaining shares.

Future acquisitions will also be done with a partner, Struijk said. Winsway will seek more opportunities with Marubeni and Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU), which has a 5.1 percent stake in Winsway, he said.

Winsway is aiming to expand annual production of clean coal at Grande Cache to more than 3.5 million metric tons from 1.4 million tons last year, according to a statement today.

The shares gained 0.5 percent to HK$2.20 at the close of trading in Hong Kong. The stock dropped 4 percent this year, compared with a 17 percent gain in the key Hang Seng index.

Winsway fell 8.6 percent on Jan. 19, the day Jonestown Research, a short seller, released a report through website InvestDOOR saying the company overstated inventories and the volume of Chinese imports. Winsway denied the allegations and called the report “dead wrong.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Yun in Hong Kong at myun11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rebecca Keenan at rkeenan5@bloomberg.net

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