Law firm Baker & McKenzie has been named as the legal advisor to New Hope as it formally announced on Wednesday (October 5) that it is receiving preliminary proposals from potential bidders. Partner Steven Glanz is the leading the Baker & McKenzie team advising New Hope, which could fetch anywhere between A$5 billion and A$10 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reports in the The Australian Financial Review had the miner valued closer to A$5 billion.

At least one stake holder, Perpetual, which owns a 6.5 percent stake in New Hope has told the AFR it would be receptive to an offer that fully valued the junior miner. New Hope has been trading at below net present value for some time, according to Perpetual’s global resources portfolio manager James Bruce.

Potential suitors to buy New Hope, which is considered an attractive target based on its strong cash position and A$503.1 million profit for the 2010-11 financial year, include Xstrata, U.S. Miners Peabody and Alpha Natural and Indian companies Adani and GVK. GVK has also recently signed a record billion dollar deal with Hancock Coal to develop infrastructure and assets in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.