Washington H Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd has made the most of coal miner New Hope Corporation's bounce to sell a 4.9 per cent stake in the group on Tuesday.
It is understood Aitken Murray Capital Partners did the $55 million trade, which took Soul Patts' New Hope stake to sub 45 per cent for the first time since the group listed in 2003.
The big question is whether Soul Patts' selldown and the slight opening up of the shareholder register could help bring about long-mooted consolidation in the coal mining sector.
The logical tie-up would be a deal between local coal miners New Hope and Whitehaven Coal - in what could be pitched as a 'stronger together' type deal at a time when both are battling market sentiment.
In other times, Glencore would be the logical acquirer, however it's now handcuffed by coal production caps, which means its Australian portfolio is full.
Soul Patts' sold at $1.40 and $1.42 a share, which was not far off the Monday close of $1.43. New Hope shares finished up 4¢ to $1.47 in Tuesday's trade. Ironically, it came as another coal play, Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure, was tanking on its market debut.
Soul Patts last sold down its New Hope stake in 2017 when it offloaded 176 million shares.
NHC Price at posting:
$1.47 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
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