The fact that western financial institutions are very reluctant...

The fact that western financial institutions are very reluctant to have any credit arrangement with a coal company due to ESG concern, resulting any type of M&A of this size at a reasonable finance cost can be only financed by credit providers from the coal consumption heavy countries.

The acquisition and large dividend payment is still an either/or situation. I am sure the independent directors on the board have a fundamental aligned interest to look after the minority shareholders. A lot of decisions need to be made by only them as directors from related parties MUST avoid conflict of interest.

In my view, either through a debt deal with the parent or a syndicated loan with a group of Chinese banks, the M&A need to get the low cost finance to realise maximum shareholder return, with the current interest rate in AU/US, I think the company might well get a better deal if they finance with a Chinese partner since PBOC is actively looking to reduce interest rate. As long as the rate published in the asx filings are reasonable, I don't mind a Chinese finance partner.