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Whitehaven Coal says its interest in buying coking coal mines “should come as no surprise to any of our investors” in a rebuke to the activist hedge fund pushing for it not to proceed with a multi-billion dollar acquisition.

In its first public response to Bell Rock Capital Management,which controls just under 5per cent of the miner, Whitehaven said greater exposure to coking coal has been “a core pillar of our strategy for many years”.

“Whitehaven would not contemplate an acquisition that is not value accretive for shareholders,” it toldThe Australian Financial Review.

Whitehaven is a short-listed party in the sales process for the Daunia and Blackwater metallurgical coal mines in Queensland which are being sold by BHP and its partner, Japan’s Mitsubishi Development Corporation.

The mines are expected to sell for more than $US3.5 billion ($5.4 billion).

But London-headquartered Bell Rock is campaigning for Whitehaven to pull out of the auction, concerned that it would lead to the “destruction” of value.

In a letter to Whitehaven’s board on Wednesday, Bell Rock’s chief investment officer, Michael O’Mara, said the mines were “very high-risk investments” located “in an unattractive jurisdiction with the highest coal taxing regime in the world”.

“Additionally, mining transactions are notoriously difficult and the operating environment in Australia is challenging, particularly in the coal industry,” Mr O’Mara wrote, adding that the company should be forced to put the transaction, if successful at the auction, to a shareholder vote.

In the letter, Mr O’Mara said the acquisition would represent some 90 per cent of Whitehaven’s current market capitalisation and an 80 per cent increase in the company’s consolidated annual revenue.

But Whitehaven is far from the only group interested in the two mines, withThe AustralianFinancial Review’s Street Talk column reporting other shortlisted parties include Yancoal, Stanmore Resources and BUMA.

Sources close to auction process, however, saidWhitehaven had made its desire to grow its exposure to coking coal clear over many years, including the period that Bell Rock owned shares. Central Queensland was regarded as one of the best metallurgical coal basins on the planet, they added.

In his letter, Mr O’Mara said research conducted by an external firm for Bell Rock showed 71 per cent of Whitehaven shareholders believed that the purchase of the two mines should be subject to a shareholder vote.

Those close to the company, however, said the polling was not statistically significant or methodologically credible. They suggested Bell Rock was more interested in immediate capital returns than long-term value creation.

In a note on Friday, UBS analysts Lachlan Shaw, Myles Allsop and Levi Spry said the Blackwater mine was worth $US2.5 billion, while Daunia was valued at $US800 million.

“Our estimate is also exposed to uncertainty in estimating rehab liabilities,” the broker wrote, assuming $US250 million at Daunia and $US1 billion at Blackwater, “which are expensed as cashflows at mine closure,” it added. “We flag potential upside for a buyer in cost-out from a leaner operating model vs BHP, but note limited/nil synergies for a buyer in the region beyond economies of scale.”

Mr O’Mara has also written to BHP and Macquarie, urging them to factor a shareholder vote into the timeline of the sale process. BHP did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Whitehaven shares closed down 2¢ at $6.667. They have risen almost 7 per cent over the last five days, however.