Arch Coal files for bankruptcy

Arch Coal Inc, the second-largest coal miner in the United States, and its domestic subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to facilitate a restructuring with a group of lenders that hold more than 50 percent of its debt, the company said.

Arch Coal said on Monday it reached an agreement with its lenders that will eliminate more than $4.5 billion in debt from the company's balance sheet.

The company said it has sufficient capital to run its operations smoothly throughout the restructuring process, and expects mining operations and customer shipments to continue uninterrupted.

Arch Coal is the fourth coal miner, after Walter Energy Inc , Alpha Natural Resources Inc and Patriot Coal, to file for bankruptcy.

The Missouri-based company was widely expected to go bankrupt after delaying a $90 million interest payment due in December last year.

In November, it reported a $2 billion third-quarter net loss and said it could have trouble servicing a $5.1 billion debt.

The company had ended a proposed debt swap previously, seen as key to delaying the prospects of bankruptcy, after opposition from a group of senior lenders who said that the terms of the deal jeopardized their return.

Arch Coal ran into debt trouble after purchasing International Coal Group Inc for $3.4 billion during a coal price peak in 2011. (http://reut.rs/1Rhy0Es) (Reporting by Ankush Sharma