(Bloomberg) — Australian coal producers are increasingly dabbling in high-interest private loans as lenders look to replace reluctant banks that are held back by ESG concerns.
Sydney-based coal miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd.’s deal last month to secure a $1.1 billion loan for buying two mines attracted 17 private credit lenders and only one bank. A consortium led by Golden Energy and Resources Pte Ltd. also is sounding out private credit funds, as well as banks, to secure financing for its $1.65 billion acquisition of a coal mine in Australia, according to people familiar with the matter.
Their talks reflect the growing prominence of private credit, which has ballooned to a $1.7 trillion market worldwide by taking on riskier projects with attractive margins. Private credit firms’ forays into the coal business signify more battles ahead for ESG proponents even while banks back away from environmentally questionable projects.
“There’s different forms of private capital, family office money and other individuals who don’t have the same ESG obligations or pressures as what some of the big funds do,” said Nick Sims, co-head of investment banking, Australia & New Zealand at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “There’s a role for them and they have been playing that role.”
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