Contura Energy has announced that it is acquiring Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), to become the largest US coking coal mining entity, in an all-stock transaction with shares to be listed in the NYSE. In 2016, both entities were created by a restructuring of ANR after filing for bankruptcy the prior year. Contura's CEO Kevin Crutchfield will remain CEO, with Alpha's CEO David Stetson joining the board.
Under the agreement, Alpha shareholders will receive 0.4071 Contura common shares for each ANR Inc. Class C-1 share and each Alpha Natural Resources Holdings Inc. common share, representing about 46.5 percent of the merged entity. The deal is reportedly worth $800 million including almost $200 million of debt. In 2017, the combined entity sold a total of 26.4 million st of coal, with almost 12.6 million st (48 percent of total) of metallurgical coal and 13.8 million st (52 percent) of thermal coal.
The transaction is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to close in Q3 2018. The claimed benefits of the merger include purchasing, operational, administrative and capital investment efficiencies.