Reports have revealed that Xstrata Plc., which is regarded the biggest exporter of power station coal, has approached a "substantial" Macarthur Coal shareholder, a move which has placed Xstrata next to Peabody Energy Corp. and two other competitor in a race to take over the $4 Billion firm.

``Macarthur advises that it has become aware that an investment bank representing Xstrata has approached one of the major shareholders in Macarthur", the company shared, while adding that the discussions are still "preliminary and highly conceptual". No other details have been shared by Xstrata.

Chances are that Brisbane based Xstrata might be joining Peabody, New Hope Corp. and Hong Kong based Noble Group Ltd. in a bidding battle to gain the control of Macarthur, which managed to become the biggest exporter of pulverized coal utilized by steelmakers, after prices of coal managed to double and China's imports tripled over the past year.

The bids sent in by Peabody and New Hope have already been rejected by Macarthur.

The bid sent in by Xstrata is speculated to be of some 2.25 Billion Pounds.