Arch out of bankruptcy tomorrow; enviros cheer bonding deal

摘要

Arch Coal Inc., the nation's second largest coal company, plans to emerge from federal bankruptcy reorganization tomorrow, less than 10 months after filing for Chapter 11 protections. In January, the St. Louis-based company joined a list of bankrupt coal giants. That list has since grown, with the fuel enduring its worst production year in decades (Greenwire, Jan. 11). The coal market cave-in, driven in large part by competition from natural gas, started in 2011, the same year Arch bought the International Coal Group for $3.4 billion. Debt from the purchase hurtled Arch toward bankruptcy alongside Peabody Energy Corp. and Alpha Natural Resources Inc., which both made similar multibillion-dollar buys around that time.