TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – US coal producer Alpha Natural Resources on Tuesday announced that Vantage Energy Appalachia II was the successful bidder for certain oil and natural gas assets known as the PLR assets, in south-west Pennsylvania, as its winning cash bid of $339.5-million far exceeded the previous ‘stalking horse’ bid of $200-million for those same assets.
"While we were not surprised with the interest the PLR assets generated from operators in the region, the strategic sale of these assets will only help to maximise the value of the estate for the benefit of all stakeholders. We continue to forge ahead toward the final phase of our restructuring," stated Alpha chairperson and CEO Kevin Crutchfield.
Alpha and certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions to reorganise under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code on August 3, 2015.
Under a court-supervised bidding process, interested potential buyers were required to submit qualified bids for any of Alpha’s assets by May 9.
Alpha stated that the transaction would require US Bankruptcy Court approval before the agreed acquisition by Vantage could close. A hearing on this matter was currently scheduled for May 26.
Alpha was advised on this transaction by Jackson Kelly as corporate counsel, Jones Day as restructuring counsel, and Rothschild as investment banker.
Alpha expected to exit bankruptcy proceedings before the end of June.