U.S. coal company Alpha Natural Resources Inc. said that it sought approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court last month to sell its core assets as part of a plan to emerge from chapter 11 protection, Reuters reported yesterday. Alpha Natural said that it filed a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in February, seeking permission to sell the assets through a stalking-horse bid of at least $500 million from its first-lien lenders led by Citicorp North America Inc. A hearing is scheduled for March 10 and the company expects a conclusion of its bankruptcy proceedings by June 30, Alpha Natural said yesterday.
