Arch Coal Inc. is huddling with creditors over ways to rework its $5.1 billion debt load, after an out-of-court restructuring effort fell through, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The nation’s second-largest coal producer has been trying to avoid a bankruptcy filing through a debt swap with bondholders. The company said yesterday that it is abandoning the effort after senior lenders blocked the swap and a New York court refused to intervene. Arch appealed the ruling by Justice Saliann Scarpulla of the New York State Supreme Court. However, Arch’s bond exchange offer expired this week and, rather than trying to extend the timeline, Arch accepted the hand it had been dealt by the courts and yesterday announced the exchange offer was off the table.
