Steel Product Producers

Arch, CONSOL merger to form Core Natural Resources

August 22, 2024

Coal companies Arch Resources and CONSOL Energy announced they will merge to create Core Natural Resources, a combined company with a market cap of ~$5.2 billion.

“Core Natural Resources will be a leading producer and exporter of high-quality, low-cost coals with offerings ranging from metallurgical to high calorific value thermal coals,” the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The merger is expected to close by the end of Q1’25. It is subject to approval by both companies’ stockholders, regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

The transaction is anticipated to be “accretive to free cash flow” for both companies in the first full year following the close of the deal.

In 2023, Arch and CONSOL sold an aggregate of ~101 million short tons of coal to steelmaking, industrial, and power-generation customers.

Executives cheer deal

“Our assets are highly complementary, resulting in increased diversification across coal types, end uses, and geographies,” said Jimmy Brock, chairman and CEO of CONSOL.

Likewise, Arch CEO Paul Lang lauded the move.

“This merger will join two proven leadership teams and best-in-sector operating platforms to establish a premier North American coal producer with worldwide reach and world-class mining and logistics capabilities,” he said.

Lang will serve as CEO and as a board member of Core Natural Resources. Brock will serve as executive chairman of Core’s board of directors.

Core Natural Resources details

Core will have mining operations and terminal facilities across six states, and will own 11 mines. The diversified coal producer will serve customers with ~12 million st of met coal and more than 25 million st of thermal coal annually.

The combined company will have access to world markets via ownership interests in two East Coast export terminals. Additionally, it will have “strategic connectivity” to ports on the West Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.

The headquarters of the combined company will be in Canonsburg, Pa., where CONSOL is based. Arch is currently based in St. Louis.

The companies said stockholders from Arch will own ~45% of Core, while CONSOL stockholders will own ~55% on a fully diluted basis. When the transaction closes, Core will trade under a new ticker.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.