Alpha Natural reaches $7.1B deal for Massey Energy
Alpha Natural Resources Inc. says it has reached a deal to buy rival coal company Massey Energy Co. for $7.1 billion in cash and stock.
Story 0 Comments Font Size: NEW YORK (AP) - Alpha Natural Resources Inc. says it has reached
a deal to buy rival coal company Massey Energy Co. for $7.1 billion
in cash and stock.
Massey, the nation's fourth-largest coal producer by revenue,
operates the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia where 29 men
were killed in an explosion last spring. It operates 19 mining
complexes in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. The
Virginia-based company has struggled with two money-losing quarters
since last spring's explosion.
Alpha is offering 1.025 share of Alpha Natural Resources Inc.
for each share of Massey, plus $10 per share in cash. Together,
that represents a bid of $69.33 per share, a 21 percent premium
over Massey's closing share price Friday.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Arch Coal or Coalmac was looking into buyng them...
This should be good for everyone involved. Alpha has a good reputation in the mining industry.
Old School Wrote:This should be good for everyone involved. Alpha has a good reputation in the mining industry.
Hopefully they have a good reputation in protecting their workers and the environment while mining coal.
I looked over the list of ANR executives and did not recognize any names. I used to have business dealings with Coastal and Enterprise, which are now owned by ANR. Coastal/Enterprise ran a class operation, IMO. Of the larger companies that I dealt with, Arch, James River, and Coastal were probably the most professionally managed - but I had few dealings with Massey.
I think Massey was a lightening rod because it challenged the UMWA on its home turf and beat them back in the 1980s. The union and its Democratic allies have targeted Massey for "special" treatment ever since. A new scapegoat will be selected, whether it is ANR or some other major non-union producer.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:I looked over the list of ANR executives and did not recognize any names. I used to have business dealings with Coastal and Enterprise, which are now owned by ANR. Coastal/Enterprise ran a class operation, IMO. Of the larger companies that I dealt with, Arch, James River, and Coastal were probably the most professionally managed - but I had few dealings with Massey.
I think Massey was a lightening rod because it challenged the UMWA on its home turf and beat them back in the 1980s. The union and its Democratic allies have targeted Massey for "special" treatment ever since. A new scapegoat will be selected, whether it is ANR or some other major non-union producer.
Good point. No doubt the enviro's will have someone to target, we'll have to wait and see if it remains Massey or do they pick another company.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:I looked over the list of ANR executives and did not recognize any names. I used to have business dealings with Coastal and Enterprise, which are now owned by ANR. Coastal/Enterprise ran a class operation, IMO. Of the larger companies that I dealt with, Arch, James River, and Coastal were probably the most professionally managed - but I had few dealings with Massey.
I think Massey was a lightening rod because it challenged the UMWA on its home turf and beat them back in the 1980s. The union and its Democratic allies have targeted Massey for "special" treatment ever since. A new scapegoat will be selected, whether it is ANR or some other major non-union producer.
I didn't think unions were very strong in the mining industry anymore? It must be different in the construction industry, we unions are only about 10% of the force. We would love to put the screws to some of the big non-union companies, but the government doesn't help us shut them down. One of the only reasons we get work is because of our accident percentage. We historically have better workmanship, but companies will sacrifice that for lower wages.
TheRealVille Wrote:I didn't think unions were very strong in the mining industry anymore?
They aren't but back in the early 80s, they were still very strong in southern West Virginia and parts of eastern Kentucky - and that is where Massey took them on. I can recall dozens of WV state troopers parked at the Kermit Druther's for breakfast each morning, on their way to Massey mines to serve as a peace keeping force.
The UMWA has lost ground since its heyday but it is still a powerful ally of the Democratic Party in many areas of the coalfields and companies that employ union labor are treated very differently by federal regulators and the media.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:They aren't but back in the early 80s, they were still very strong in southern West Virginia and parts of eastern Kentucky - and that is where Massey took them on. I can recall dozens of WV state troopers parked at the Kermit Druther's for breakfast each morning, on their way to Massey mines to serve as a peace keeping force.
The UMWA has lost ground since its heyday but it is still a powerful ally of the Democratic Party in many areas of the coalfields and companies that employ union labor are treated very differently by federal regulators and the media.
I can't think of any union mines around here, are there still any? Big ones? I can remember that the one person killed in 76 during the strikes in Harlan county was killed by a non union.
In the construction industry, OSHA(our MSHA) treats the non unions a lot better than us. They get away with tons more infractions.
TheRealVille Wrote:I can't think of any union mines around here, are there still any? Big ones?
I don't know if there are any left in the Pike, Johnson, Martin, and Floyd County areas or not - I doubt that there are but I left the industry over 10 years ago. My guess is that most, if not all of the remaining UMWA mines in Kentucky are located in the western coalfield.
I searched unsuccessfully for a list of UMWA mines that are operating. Maybe Old School and others who are still active in the mining industry can shed more light on the extent of current UMWA operations.
TheRealVille Wrote:I can't think of any union mines around here, are there still any? Big ones? I can remember that the one person killed in 76 during the strikes in Harlan county was killed by a non union.
I worked in a UMWA represented mine during the summer of 1976 as a general laborer on the third shift. I remember the thugs in ski masks, armed with guns and clubs who cost me half of my shifts before my freshman year of college. I remember encountering the same type of cowardly thugs staging wildcat strikes when I worked as a supervisor in Logan County in the early 80s.
The roving pickets were guilty of many acts of violence and vandalism and they were their own worst enemy when it came to organizing. It is no wonder to me that these same thugs now want to deprive workers of the right to secret ballot elections and that liberal Democrats are pushing for the legislation to make it happen. They would love to be able to intimidate people into unionizing by forcing public votes on union representation.
TheRealVille Wrote:I didn't think unions were very strong in the mining industry anymore? It must be different in the construction industry, we unions are only about 10% of the force. We would love to put the screws to some of the big non-union companies, but the government doesn't help us shut them down. One of the only reasons we get work is because of our accident percentage. We historically have better workmanship, but companies will sacrifice that for lower wages.
Like Hoot said the UMWA is not as nearly as strong as it once was, they don't have the strong physical presence as before. However they still have a strong presence with the media, and anti mining groups, I guess you could say that the UMWA keeps stirring the pot between Massey and anti mining groups, giving more bad press to Massey.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:I worked in a UMWA represented mine during the summer of 1976 as a general laborer on the third shift. I remember the thugs in ski masks, armed with guns and clubs who cost me half of my shifts before my freshman year of college. I remember encountering the same type of cowardly thugs staging wildcat strikes when I worked as a supervisor in Logan County in the early 80s.
The roving pickets were guilty of many acts of violence and vandalism and they were their own worst enemy when it came to organizing. It is no wonder to me that these same thugs now want to deprive workers of the right to secret ballot elections and that liberal Democrats are pushing for the legislation to make it happen. They would love to be able to intimidate people into unionizing by forcing public votes on union representation.
Hoot, I can't remember. Did Massey take over some of the Island Creek Mines on the West Virginia side?
Bob Seger Wrote:Hoot, I can't remember. Did Massey take over some of the Island Creek Mines on the West Virginia side?
I can't remember for sure, but I think that they may have acquired Island Creek property at Red Jacket in the 70s or early 80s. I am pretty sure that Massey acquired some of Island Creek's properties in Logan County after I left the company but I didn't really stay in touch with what happened in WV after I left the company in the mid-80s. I believe that Massey acquired Island Creek's Big Creek property in Pike County as well but it has been a long time.
I remember that the UMWA made it impossible for Island Creek to operate the Big Creek mines profitably. IIRC, mining costs at Big Creek sometimes exceeded $80/ton. The plan was to develop two mines as longwall operations but Island Creek could not afford to operate the mines long enough to get the longwall panels set up. The mines in the Pond Creek seam were a constant drain on Island Creek's finances and were heavily subsidized by profitable contract mines in the upper seams. Operations in the Pond Creek seam with similar conditions by Massey, James River (McCoy Elkhorn), and other non-union operators were very profitable.
To be fair, part of Island Creek's problems was that they had no experience in longwall mining in eastern Kentucky or southern West Virginia and their management constantly changed development plans. But strikes, labor relations, and theft were major problems at the Big Creek operations. Morale was terrible and Island Creek had a very difficult time hiring managers for the mines. So many mine foremen and superintendents were fired or transferred from Big Creek, nobody really wanted to work there and deal with the labor issues.
When Massey opened its Marrowbone Development mine near Lenore, WV, they hired the most highly skilled miners and staff in the industry and paid them far more than their competitors. The place was a showcase in every way. Landing a job at Marrowbone was not an easy thing to do. Massey maintained its non-union status by carefully screening job applicants. Applicants who had a history of union activism were turned away, regardless of their qualifications.
Massey has always demanded dedication from its employees far exceeding what I considered reasonable, but their employees were always very well compensated as far as I recall.
TheRealVille Wrote:Hopefully they have a good reputation in protecting their workers and the environment while mining coal.
From what I understand, Alpha has a very good safety record.
ImagineThat! Wrote:From what I understand, Alpha has a very good safety record.
Good deal. That's all I ask. As long as they care about my kids a 1000 years down the road, I'll be happy.
Well, I can remember in 2008, when the coal industry was booming, guys were moving from company to company (I worked at CAM, and we'd lose five and gain five in the span of two days, every week, for basically six or seven months), but the Alpha guys stayed put. My neighbor is a boss for one of their mines and he told me during all of that, that they never lost anybody to another company during the boom. Everyone I know that works for Alpha says they are a very fair company that puts a strong emphasis on safety.
In English 101 I had to read a book called "Lost Mountain: A Year In the Vanishing Wilderness". I remember him talking about the evils of Massey Energy. It was seriously the worst book I've ever read.
Aslan Wrote:In English 101 I had to read a book called "Lost Mountain: A Year In the Vanishing Wilderness". I remember him talking about the evils of Massey Energy. It was seriously the worst book I've ever read.
Asian can read. LOL.
OrangenowBlue Wrote:Asian can read. LOL.
It's Aslan. L not I. And yeah, I suppose I can read, lol.
OrangenowBlue Wrote:Asian can read. LOL.
Is THIS A RACIST STATEMENT? lol.
TidesHoss32 Wrote:Well, I can remember in 2008, when the coal industry was booming, guys were moving from company to company (I worked at CAM, and we'd lose five and gain five in the span of two days, every week, for basically six or seven months), but the Alpha guys stayed put. My neighbor is a boss for one of their mines and he told me during all of that, that they never lost anybody to another company during the boom. Everyone I know that works for Alpha says they are a very fair company that puts a strong emphasis on safety.
theres serveral that went from Massey to Alpha when they started around Loagn, Red Jacket and them areas , some of the upper guys from LCMS
cuppett777 Wrote:theres serveral that went from Massey to Alpha when they started around Loagn, Red Jacket and them areas , some of the upper guys from LCMS
Yeah, but I was saying that the guys that already had jobs at Alpha, didnt leave there to work for other companies..Alpha was one of the few companies that didnt battle turnover during the coal boom, or around here anyways....
Hoot Gibson Wrote:They aren't but back in the early 80s, they were still very strong in southern West Virginia and parts of eastern Kentucky - and that is where Massey took them on. I can recall dozens of WV state troopers parked at the Kermit Druther's for breakfast each morning, on their way to Massey mines to serve as a peace keeping force.
The UMWA has lost ground since its heyday but it is still a powerful ally of the Democratic Party in many areas of the coalfields and companies that employ union labor are treated very differently by federal regulators and the media.
I did love that Druthers.