Cambrian Coal Elected to File Voluntary Petitions for Relief Under Chapter 11 on June 16, 2019 and Obtains Financing for Its Restructuring

Mining Operations and Customer Shipments to Continue in the Ordinary Course
Company to Explore a Sale Process Under Court Supervision

BELCHER, Ky., June 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cambrian Coal and its affiliated companies (collectively “Cambrian”, the “Company”, or the “Debtors”) today announced that it filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for Eastern District of Kentucky in Lexington on June 16, 2019.

Cambrian has received commitments from certain of its lenders for up to $15 million of debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing and will explore a sale process under court supervision. The Company expects its mining operations and customer shipments to continue in the ordinary course throughout the court-supervised process.

“Today’s announcement represents a significant step in our ongoing efforts to secure our company’s position,” said Mark Campbell, President of Cambrian. “We will continue to provide our customers with exceptional service as we move through this process, while maintaining and further reinforcing our position in the industry with the highest standards for safety, environmental stewardship and productivity. This court-supervised process will also allow us to prepare our company for sale. Potential buyers for the business will have the opportunity to demonstrate their interest and provide the company with a path forward. We firmly believe this is the best course of action for our company.”

The terms of the DIP financing agreement have been ordered and approved by the Bankruptcy Court, among other conditions.

Cambrian has received the Bankruptcy Court’s approval for its motions to continue paying employee wages and providing health care and other benefits. The Company has also received approval to continue existing customer programs and intends to pay suppliers in full for goods and services provided after the filing date of June 16, 2019.

Court filings and other documents related to the reorganization proceedings are available on a website administered by Cambrian’s claims agent, Epiq, at https://dm.epiq11.com/case/CDC/dockets. 

Frost Brown Todd LLC is serving as legal advisor to Cambrian, Jefferies and FTI Consulting are serving as financial advisors.

Cambrian is a leading producer of coal products for the steel, power generation and other industries in the U.S. Its operations include mining, shipping, and marketing coal from underground and surface mines located in Kentucky and Virginia. Presently, the Cambrian Coal operates at three primary mining facilities in Kentucky and Virginia: (i) Perry County Coal, located near Hazard, Kentucky; (ii) Premier Elkhorn Coal LLC, located near Dorton, Kentucky; and (iii) Clintwood Elkhorn Mining LLC, located in eastern Kentucky and western Virginia.

The Debtors in this Chapter 11 case are (with the last four digits of their federal tax identification numbers in parentheses): Cambrian Holding Company, Inc. (8203), Cambrian Coal LLC (3394), Apex Energy, Inc. (3455), C.W. Augering, Inc. (2875), Marshall Resources, Inc. (9735), PLM Holding Company LLC (7427), Bear Branch Coal LLC (0674), Clintwood Elkhorn Mining LLC (6910), Gatliff Coal LLC (5768), Perry County Coal LLC (4382), Ray Coal LLC (0981), Whitaker Coal LLC (8270), Pike-Letcher Land LLC (8952), Premier Elkhorn Coal LLC (8951), Raven Rock Development LLC (1351), Rich Mountain Coal LLC (1974), S.T. & T. Leasing, Inc. (0340), T.C. Leasing, Inc. (7705), and Shelby Resources, LLC (5085).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" – that is, statements related to future, not past, events.  In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," or "will."  Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain.  For us, particular uncertainties arise from changes in the demand for our coal by the domestic electric generation industry; from legislation and regulations relating to the Clean Air Act and other environmental initiatives; from operational, geological, permit, labor and weather-related factors; from fluctuations in the amount of cash we generate from operations; from potential demands for additional collateral for self-bonding; from our ability to complete our potential exchange offers; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature.  These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements.  We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.  For a description of some of the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results, you should see the risk factors described from time to time in the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACTS:

Epiq Call Center:
+1-877-830-7938 (toll-free in North America)
+1-503-520-4456 (outside of North America)

Company contact:
media@cambriancoal.com