Macarthur Coal may have backed the $4.9 billion joint takeover...

Macarthur Coal may have backed the $4.9 billion joint takeover offer by Peabody Energy and global steel giant ArcelorMittal but with the miner?s target statement set to come out this Friday there is still plenty of chatter that a rival bid could be in the works. The key focal point of these rumours is Macarthur?s major shareholder Citic Resources and its silence with regards to its stance on the Peabody-Arcelor bid. Any counter-offer would have to involve Citic and its 24.5 per cent stake in Macarthur, and The Australian Financial Review reports that the Chinese giant is planning to team up with a rival suitor to bring a new offer to the table. Macarthur?s board took its sweet time before recommending the Peabody-Arcelor offer, giving rival suitors more than enough time to pore over its books, with Anglo American and Noble Group seen as possible candidates to join forces with Citic. The speculation would suggest that Citic is not interested in selling its stake at $16 a share so any counterbid would have to come in close to the $17 a share mark.