Photo by: Bloomberg
VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Bankrupt US coal producer Arch Coal has won approval from the Eastern District of Missouri's US Bankruptcy Court for its proposed amended plan of reorganisation, which would see the company eliminate more than $4.7-billion in debt from Arch's balance sheet.
This clears the path for Arch to emerge from bankruptcy early in October, the company advised on Tuesday.
St Louis, Missouri-based Arch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, after failing to restructure with bondholders out of court. Arch’s highly leveraged capital structure, comprising more than $5-billion in outstanding indebtedness and about $360-million in annual debt service, could be sustained in the depressed coal market at the time.
"We will emerge as a strong, well-positioned natural resource company with a compelling plan for value creation,” stated CEO John Eaves.
Arch said that its senior lenders overwhelmingly supported the restructuring plan.
NYSE-listed Arch, which produces coal for the global steel and power generation industries through its network of mining complexes straddling every significant US coal basin, especially the lower-cost Powder River basin, in Wyoming, said that it remained confident that it had established a “solid foundation” for long-term success, built on its strong metallurgical and thermal franchises.