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Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Largest private coal company, Murray Energy, files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, despite help from Trump administration

Murray Energy, the nation's largest privately owned coal company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today in order to restructure its debt. At the beginning of October, lenders granted the company two extensions to make missed payments; the second extension ended yesterday. The firm plans to continue operating during the restructuring with cash on hand and $350 million in new loans, as long as the bankruptcy judge approves, Brad McElhinny reports for MetroNews in West Virginia.

The company will change its name to Murray NewCo and founder Robert Murray will step aside as president and CEO to become chairman of the board. His nephew, Robert Moore, will be CEO; Moore has been executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

It's the latest in a string of high-profile coal company bankruptcies this year as power plants' demand for coal declines. "Eight major U.S. coal producers have filed for bankruptcy since November 2017, including five this year," McElhinny reports.

The bankruptcy comes despite the Trump administration's extensive efforts, many at Murray's behest, to help the coal industry. Soon after Trump's inauguration, Murray, a major campaign backer, sent Vice President Mike Pence a laundry list of 14 actions that would benefit his company. The administration had carried out almost all of them within a year.

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