I think nhc would have to have at least 450m in the bank as of...

I think nhc would have to have at least 450m in the bank as of today, depending on working capital, shipping, capex at na3, etc. At the inferred market cap of malabar, from the nhc investment announcement, of aud 1 billion, and a nominal premium of 20 to 30%, nhc would have to pay approx 800 to 900 million for the remainder not owned. That is a guess, taken without a look at the malabar share register.

Given the capex requirements for na3 and malabar, and dividend expectations, id like to see nhc pay 300m from cash and a 600m debt facility. At 12%, or 70m per annum interest, and debt of roughly 15% of the market cap, I think the investment would be well sized and rewarding, diversifying the product base and exploding cashflow post 2027. It would also nullify those pesky 'investments that have returned 9% per annum' that the company is making on my unwanting behalf, and improve balance sheet based investment metrics.

A note of concern is the estimated 115/t (aud) cost from Malabar, which is a bit above that of bengalla and probably na3. Offsetting this is the first 4 years of full bore longwall are around 8mtpa, of mostly sscc, giving a pretty good achieved sales price.