A Delaware judge won’t let Murray Energy Corp. use a loophole to avoid cashing out creditors of Foresight Energy LP, saying the move breached an agreement to buy back $600 million in bonds, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. Friday’s ruling comes in a lawsuit brought by a bond trustee alleging that Foresight altered Murray’s purchase from a controlling 80 percent to a minority stake of 34 percent to avoid triggering the payment under a debt agreement. Murray acquired 34 percent of the voting rights in Foresight in April as part of a $1.37 billion takeover, while maintaining a 50 percent economic interest in the company. Murray, seeking to expand its presence in low-cost mining regions such as the Illinois coal basin where Foresight operates, revised the terms after struggling to raise the required debt to fund the deal.
