Walter Energy Buyer Seen as BHP-ArcelorMittal Converge: Real M&A

Walter Energy Inc. may finally lure buyers willing to bet on a recovery in coal prices with the industry’s cheapest stock.

After losing almost half its value in the past year, the producer of steelmaking coal sold for 9.3 times earnings this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That was less than any North American coal-mining company with $1 billion in market capitalization. The slide also drove down the value of Walter Energy to 1.7 times its net assets this month, the lowest since the last bear market in U.S. equities, the data show.