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Biggest Private Coal Miner Goes Bust as Trump Rescue Fails

  • Murray Energy gets $350 million loan to keep operating
  • Miner signs deal that would hand ownership to lender group
Donald Trump models a hard hat in support of coal miners during a campaign rally in Charleston.

Donald Trump models a hard hat in support of coal miners during a campaign rally in Charleston.

Photographer: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Getty Images
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Robert E. Murray, the U.S. coal baron who pressed the Trump administration to help save America’s struggling miners, placed his company into bankruptcy as demand for the fossil fuel continues to weaken.

Murray Energy Holdings Co. filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Columbus, Ohio, to restructure more than $2.7 billion of debt. The miner -- the largest privately owned U.S. coal company -- reached a restructuring support agreement with lenders who hold more than 60% of a $1.7 billion loan, the company said in a statement. The deal provides a new $350 million loan to keep operations going during the reorganization.