Published: June 21, 2019 | Share This

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Peabody and Arch Coal have entered into a definitive agreement to combine the companies’ Powder River Basin and Colorado assets in a highly synergistic joint venture aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of coal against natural gas and renewables, while creating substantial value for customers and shareholders. 

The joint venture is expected to unlock synergies with a pre-tax net present value of approximately $820 million. Average joint venture synergies are projected to be approximately $120 million per year over the initial 10 years. The joint venture will be 66.5 percent owned by Peabody and 33.5 percent owned by Arch.

“The Peabody/Arch joint venture is an extraordinary example of industrial logic targeted to strengthen the competitive position of our products and create significant value for multiple stakeholders in a low-cost combination with exceptional physical synergies,” said Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Kellow.

“The transaction unites two strong, culturally aligned workforces with a commitment to core values such as safety and sustainability.  We believe this joint venture allows us to offer enhanced products and security of supply for customers, increased value for shareholders, greater efficiencies for railroads, long-term opportunities for employees and strength for the communities in which we operate,” added Kellow.

“We are excited about this transaction’s potential to enhance the value of Arch’s top-tier thermal coal assets. This new joint venture should allow us to realize the full potential of our valuable assets in the Powder River Basin and Colorado and benefit our customers in the process,” said Arch Chief Executive Officer John W. Eaves.

“The significant operating synergies will enhance the competitiveness of these assets and also enable us to continue to generate long-term, sustainable returns for our shareholders. We look forward to completing this transaction in a timely manner,” added Eaves.

Governance of the joint venture will consist of a five-member board of managers appointed by Peabody and Arch. Each party will have voting rights in proportion to its ownership percentage, with certain items requiring supermajority approval. As the operator, Peabody will manage all activities including the marketing of coal. Peabody and Arch will share profits, capital requirements, and cash distributions of the joint venture in proportion to ownership percentages. 

Among other assets, the joint venture will combine two productive and adjacent U.S. coal mines – Peabody’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine (NARM) and Arch’s Black Thunder Mine, which share a property line of more than seven miles – into a single, lower-cost complex.

Aggregated synergies are expected to enable the joint venture to significantly reduce costs well beyond what each company could achieve alone. A lower cost structure enables coal to better compete against other energy sources for electricity generation and create value. Expected substantial synergies include, among others:

• Optimization of mine planning, sequencing and accessing otherwise isolated reserves
• Improved efficiencies in deployment of the combined equipment fleet
• More efficient procurement and warehousing
• Enhanced blending capabilities to more closely meet customer requirements
• Improved utilization of the combined rail loadout system and other rail efficiencies
• Reductions in long-term capital requirements
• Leveraging Peabody’s shared services

Underpinning the combination, Peabody has the lowest-cost position among major Powder River Basin producers and Arch has some of the highest-quality coal in the PRB. Arch is contributing its low-cost, higher-margin West Elk Mine that enhances Peabody’s Twentymile Mine in Colorado. Further PRB synergies are expected from the integration of the Caballo, Rawhide, and Coal Creek mines, which have some of the best overburden-to-coal ratios in the world. Together with NARM and Black Thunder, these PRB assets represent five of the 10 most productive mines in the United States. The inclusion of the Colorado assets will lead to additional synergies and offer the ability to better serve domestic customers while preserving seaborne coal optionality. 

The combination of assets from two recognized companies is expected to advance continued responsible mining and reclamation for decades to come, benefiting all stakeholders.

“For Peabody, the creation of the joint venture is a clear demonstration of the company’s U.S. thermal strategy to optimize our lowest-cost, highest-margin operations in a low-capital fashion to maximize cash generation. The transaction fully aligns with our stated investment filters, further enhances our financial strength and enables continued commitment to our shareholder return program, in which we are committed to returning an amount greater than our free cash flows to shareholders in 2019,” said Kellow.

In 2018, on a combined basis, the assets shipped 206.0 million tons of coal. The assets are operated by a workforce of approximately 3,300, with combined proven and probable reserves totaling 3.4 billion as of Dec. 31, 2018.

About Peabody
Peabody is the leading global pure-play coal company and a member of the Fortune 500, serving power and steel customers in more than 25 countries on six continents.  The company offers significant scale, high-quality assets, and diversity in geography and products.  Peabody is guided by seven core values: safety, customer focus, leadership, people, excellence, integrity and sustainability.

To stop by Peabody’s website, CLICK HERE

About Arch Coal
U.S.-based Arch Coal, Inc. is a top coal producer for the global steel and power generation industries.  Arch operates a streamlined portfolio of large-scale, low-cost mining complexes that produce high-quality metallurgical coals in Appalachia and low-emitting thermal coals in the Powder River Basin and other strategic supply regions.

To stop by Arch Coal’s website, CLICK HERE

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