Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced Monday that it has terminated its plan to acquire Alpha Natural Resources Inc. and has agreed to pay $70 million to settle litigation between the companies.
The boards of both mining companies agreed to break the deal and settle the litigation "after considering various issues, including the current macroeconomic environment, uncertainty in the steel industry, shareholder dynamics, and risks and costs of potential litigation," the companies said in a statement. The merger would have created the largest North American producer of metallurgical coal, which is used to make coke for steel production.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry.
Alpha Natural Resources is a leading supplier of high-quality Appalachian coal to electric utilities, steel producers and heavy industry. Alpha Natural Resources is also the nation's largest supplier and exporter of metallurgical coal.