King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Yancoal shareholder Yangzhou and its parent  Yankuang on the A$3.1b acquisition of Coal & Allied from Rio Tinto.

The Coal & Allied acquisition will make Yancoal Australia’s largest pure-play coal producer, adding interests in three operating, large-scale, long-life and low-cost coal mines in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales.

A cross-border KWM team working across Australia and China advised Yangzhou and Yanguang on the acquisition, led by Partners Han Jie and Tang Lizi from KWM China and Partner David Friedlander, Esther Hao and Jingchuan Zhao in Australia. They were supported by Senior Associate Robert Kelly and Solicitor Anthony Hong.

Mr Friedlander said KWM was delighted to have leveraged the firm’s unique cross-border offering to advise on this significant transaction involving the leading resource players in the region.

“We are pleased to have supported our client on this landmark transaction, in financial and other support for its subsidiary Yancoal. With significant experience advising Chinese companies with major investments into Australia and vice versa, KWM was able to bring both an Australian and a Chinese perspective to the negotiations to ensure success.”