The rise of former Hunter coal baron Nathan Tinkler from the ashes continues after White Energy shareholders almost unanimously supported his appointment as chairman.
The shareholders recently overwhelmingly voted in favour of five resolutions that will result in the company acquiring Mr Tinkler's Queensland coal company Oceltip Coal 2.
The resulting purchase will also raise $15 million from new investors.
Since the equity raising was announced, White Energy shares surged to six times their market price before the Tinkler deal was made public.
The raising was supported by a mix of wealthy individuals and institutional investors.
The Australian Financial Review reported that Tribeca Investment Partners was among those that subscribed for shares in White Energy.
"We are back on the Tink train - he is a great dealmaker and has an eye for mis-priced assets," Tribeca portfolio manager Ben Cleary said.
White Energy owns a demonstration and pilot plant in Cessnock for processing low-grade and waste coal, but is otherwise not active in the Hunter.
Its purchase of Mr Tinkler's Oceltip Coal 2 will give it control of undeveloped coal assets near the Queensland town of Wandoan.
Mr Tinkler will be joined on the board by resources industry investor John Canavan, the brother of National senator Matt Canavan.
It is not the first time that Mr Tinkler's presence has helped lift a relatively small resources company's profile.
Australian Pacific Coal found itself in the spotlight when Mr Tinkler joined the company in 2015. He helped drive a strategy to buy coal assets at what were then very low coal prices.
Among the projects that were resurrected was the controversial Dartbrook coal mine near Muswellbrook.
Mr Tinkler, who was named as Australia's youngest billionaire with a net worth of more than $1.18 billion in early 2012, acquired the ownership of the Newcastle Jets in 2010 and the Newcastle Knights in 2011.
However, by 2016 his empire had collapsed, culminating in him being declared bankrupt with debts of more than $540 million.
Mr Tinkler's Newcastle headquarters, which included the top floor of the Boardwalk Building at One Honeysuckle Drive, was offloaded via expressions of interest.
His properties in Ocean Street, Merewether, sold for $6.2 million in March 2014.
His personal bankruptcy was annulled in 2018 and a ban on him serving as a director of Australian companies expired in early 2021.
He sold his 15-bedroom Sapphire Beach beachfront compound in April 2024.
The details of his current address are not widely known.
