Mining giant Anglo American has struck a deal to sell its stake in an Australian coal joint venture for 1.6 billion Australian dollars (£830 million).
Shares in the company were higher in early trading after the FTSE 100 firm confirmed the sale plans.
The move is part of a long-term strategy by chief executive Duncan Wanblad to streamline its operations in a bid to improve financial performance.
Our process to sell the rest of our steelmaking coal business is now at an advanced stage and we are on track to agree terms in the coming months
Anglo American told shareholders on Monday it will sell its 33.3% stake in Jellinbah Group to Zashvin.
Zashvin, the vehicle of real estate and resources billionaire Sam Chong, already owns a third of the business alongside Japanese business Marubeni.
The deal, which is due to be completed in the second quarter of next year, comes amid talks from Anglo American to sell off the rest of its steelmaking coal operations in Australia.
The company said it hopes to strike a deal in the coming months after discussions with a number of potential suitors.
The disposal activity comes amid turnaround efforts at Anglo American, which fended off a £39 billion takeover proposal by rival BHP earlier this year.
We are making excellent progress with our simplification of Anglo American to create an exciting and differentiated investment proposition
Mr Wanblad said: “Our process to sell the rest of our steelmaking coal business – being the portfolio of steelmaking coal mines that we operate in Australia – is now at an advanced stage and we are on track to agree terms in the coming months.
“We are making excellent progress with our simplification of Anglo American to create an exciting and differentiated investment proposition focused on our world-class copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients assets – all future-enabling products.
“This highly cash generative and much higher margin portfolio will offer greater resilience through cycles and the benefit of significant high-quality and well-sequenced growth options, including a clear path to increase annual copper production to more than one million tonnes by the early 2030s.”
