Aston Resources IPO Prospectus Likely To Be Lodged Next Week -Source

21st Jul 2010 06:10

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Aston Resources is likely to lodge a prospectus for an initial public offering in Australia next week, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The company has an enterprise value of A$2 billion, the person said. Aston Resources Managing Director Nathan Tinkler previously said he planned to list 15%-20% of the company on the Australian Securities Exchange, which implies the IPO would be between A$300 million and A$400 million in size. Aston is also close to reaching an agreement with a cornerstone investor, the person said. The group will announce who or what company that is when the prospectus is lodged. Earlier this month, a person familiar with the situation said Aston was in talks with two Chinese parties interested in taking a cornerstone stake in its Maules Creek development and in securing coal offtake from the mine. Tinkler completed the purchase of Maules Creek from Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU) subsidiary Coal & Allied Industries Ltd. (CNA.AU) for US$480 million in February. -By Cynthia Koons; Dow Jones Newswires; +61-2-8272-4691; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 21, 2010 01:10 ET (05:10 GMT)