Going into an Aug. 18 asset auction, James River Coal in an Aug. 16 bankruptcy court filing identified JR Acquisition LLC as the “stalking horse” bidder for many of its assets.
JR Acquisition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Central Appalachian coal producer Blackhawk Mining LLC, is a stalking horse bidder for mining complexes commonly referred to as the Hampden Complex in southern West Virginia (including the assets of coal marketer Logan & Kanawha Coal Co. LLC), the Hazard Complex in eastern Kentucky (other than the assets of debtor Laurel Mountain Resources LLC) and the Triad Complex in Indiana for an aggregate purchase price of $50m plus the assumption of certain liabilities.
The court plans an Aug. 20 hearing to look at auction results.
In the attached stalking horse bidder agreement, the bidder contact is: Blackhawk Mining LLC, 3228 Summit Square Place, Suite 180, Lexington, KY 40509, Attention: Nicholas Glancy, fax: (859) 543-0516, E-mail: nglancy@blackhawkmining.com.
On April 7, James River and all of its wholly owned subsidiaries filed a voluntary petition under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Like many U.S. coal producers, James River Coal has been hammered by a down coal market that has gone on for about three years now and is only showing mild signs of letting up.
