Linc Shares Slump After A$1.5 Billion Asset Sale Is Delayed

By Jason Scott

Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Linc Energy Ltd., an Australian producer of cleaner-burning fuels, fell to a seven-month low after saying Xinwen Mining Group Ltd. may not be able to pay a deposit for its coal assets next week.

Linc fell as much as 14 percent, the most among stocks traded on the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index in Sydney, and was down 6.1 percent at 11:19 a.m. to A$1.63 a share.

The worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression has reduced the pool of credit available to companies to fund acquisitions. Linc said after the market closed yesterday that the sale of its two Teresa coal-exploration permits in Queensland to Xinwen Mining Group Ltd. may be delayed, and the Brisbane- based company may invite “non-Chinese groups” to bid for the assets.

In August, Linc said government-controlled Xinwen had agreed to buy the assets for A$1.5 billion ($1 billion).

Xinwen, among Chinese companies tapping gas from unconventional sources such as coal, remains a contender for the permits, and a sale could still be completed within eight weeks, Linc Chief Executive Officer Peter Bond said in last night’s statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Scott in Perth at Jscott14@bloomberg.net