"The decision by SK to pull the plug on the increased investment means Cockatoo is free to find alternative long-term finance.
Given the continuing hot market for merger and acquisition activity in the sector, speculation could resurface.
Foster Stockbroking analyst Craig Brown estimates there has been $25 billion in deals involving coal producers in the past 18 months and $6bn in deals involving explorers-developers.
He said yesterday that the consolidation meant attention was switching to the sub $1bn market capitalisation of aspiring coal explorers, developers and producers listed on the ASX.
He said they were "looking to expand and feed the ongoing demand from power stations and steelmakers in China".
"We expect many institutions will be looking for replacement exposure to coal given the value of deals generated in the Australian market over the last 12 to 18 months," he said.
His picks among the sector were Acacia Coal, Bandanna Energy, Guildford Coal and Tigers Realm Coal."
Management better get creative otherwise someone is going to snap us up cheap.
