A 9.91% stake was acquired by Farallon Capital Management LLC from Nathan Tinkler. The acquisition took more than half of the former billionaire's share in Whitehaven Coal Ltd.

A 40% premium stake was paid at Aus$2.96 per share piece to yesterday's close as statement in an email from Tinkler Group. The fund owns 5.1% of Whitehaven and will increase to 16.62% stake after today. It also agreed to buy another 1.63% stake but is still subject to regulatory approval.

The transaction that took place meant Farallon replacing Tinkler as the largest shareholder at Whitehaven Coal Ltd. Last year, Tinkler made a Aus$5.3 billion takeover deal for Whitehaven but collapsed as coal prices fell in August. Today, the stake was valued at Aus$301 million.

In a statement issued by Tinkler, he said that the current market price of Whitehaven does not reflect the value of the company. Nathan Tinkler owed as much as US$700 million to Farallon, Credit Suisse Group AG and Kuok Group according to people familiar with the matter said in November.