Commodities and shipowning giant Vitol has struck a deal to buy rival Noble Resources Trading.
The takeover is intended to expand the Swiss trader’s coal business, but Singapore-based Noble also trades and ships refined oil products.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year at $0.63 per share, or $208.9m.
Noble will at first be run as a stand-alone entity.
Mike Muller, chief executive of Vitol Asia, said: “I am delighted at the prospect of the very experienced teams at Noble Resources joining Vitol and very much look forward to growing the business together.”
Noble trades 35m tonnes of thermal coal per year.
It is also a leader in metallurgical coke and coal, fitting into Vitol’s push into metals.
The group says it offers a complete supply chain, including shipping.
Noble, which also has offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, emerged in 2018 as a separate entity after the collapse of trader Noble Group following a 45-month probe into misleading accounting statements.
Geneva-based Vitol bought Noble’s oil unit that year, while Mercuria acquired the US gas and power arm.
In 2022, TradeWinds reported that the Monetary Authority of Singapore imposed a civil penalty of SGD 12.6m ($9m) on Noble Group.
The company was once Asia’s largest commodity trader with a market value of more than $10bn.
It was forced to restructure after years of losses and accusations of improper accounting, which it denied.
