Westmoreland Coal Company (fka WLBAQ)

[Renee]

WLBAQ (and WMLPQ) BK PLAN effective. All shares cancelled.


https://otce.finra.org/otce/dailyList?viewType=Deletions

[mcp4]

Pink sheets lists WLBAQ as deliquent in their SEC filings - not encouraging. All of the assets of Westmoreland Coal Company (“Old Westmoreland”) were transferred to Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC (“New Westmoreland”).
3 June 2019

[OTCRIDER]

0.018 0.00576 47.06%

Westmoreland Emerges from Chapter 11
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 15, 2019
https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/WLBAQ/news/story?e&id=1310862

[OTCRIDER]

Mar 5, 2019...The bankruptcy comes as the coal industry struggles from power utilities and others reducing their reliance on it as a fuel.

The stock held by shareholders of the existing Westmoreland is being wiped out in the reorganization.

Westmoreland’s Chapter 11 reorganization leaves unpaid as much as $930 million in unsecured financial claims — including $334.5 million in retiree health benefits, pension payments of $41.7 million and $21.8 million in funding for treating miners’ Black Lung disease.

By Greg Avery
– Reporter, Denver Business Journal

Mar 5, 2019,
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2019/03/05/westmoreland-coal-co-sale-to-creditors.html

[mcp4]

Thanks for the report. But I'm out, having sold my WLBAQ shares.

One, it was a sure thing and only involced a commission rather than a $25 "reorganization fee". Second, WMLP is a partnership and issues K-1s. Having dealt with K-1s in the past I make a specific point to avoid any investments that issues them. That's just me. And most important, I don't see the demand for coal returning to the point where Westmoreland can sustain operations.

Good luck to all longs.

[Werbe]

On February 12, 2019, the board of directors of WCC directed the management of WCC to pursue a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding Common Units not owned by WCC (the “Tender Offer”). WCC estimates that the total amount of cash required to complete the Tender Offer will be approximately $212,800, which consists of the cost to acquire all outstanding Common Units at the offer price of $0.01 per Common Unit should all unitholders tender their Common Units, and 30% of all transaction fees and expenses associated with the Tender Offer (pursuant to an agreement with WMLP to share all expenses related to the Tender Offer, with WCC being responsible for 30% of such expenses and WMLP being responsible for 70%). The Tender Offer is not conditioned upon any financing arrangements or contingencies.

Item 4. Purpose of Transaction

Item 4 of the Schedule 13D is hereby amended and supplemented with the following:

On October 9, 2018, WCC and certain of its affiliates, including WMLP, filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

As part of the Chapter 11 cases commended by WCC and WMLP, each of WCC, WMLP and their respective secured lender groups negotiated over a period of time regarding a comprehensive resolution of intercompany matters. As part of that comprehensive resolution, WCC agreed to make the Offer to holders of the Common Units.

On February 13, 2019, WCC commenced the Tender Offer. The primary purpose of the Tender Offer is to allow holders of Common Units to avoid or reduce potential allocations of taxable income and loss, including potentially substantial cancellation of debt income (“CODI”) within the meaning Section 61(a)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), that could result from the resolution of WMLP’s bankruptcy process. Because WMLP is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, all items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit of WMLP are treated as items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit allocated directly to WMLP’s unitholders and reported on such unitholders’ separate returns. As a result, holders of Common Units generally benefit from owning Common Units when there is income and profits at WMLP because such income and profits are not taxed at a corporate level and all of WMLP’s deductions are allocated directly to holders of Common Units, potentially offsetting any allocation of income. However, under distressed economic and business circumstances, and particularly in the case of a bankruptcy proceeding, holders of Common Units may be exposed to disadvantageous tax consequences through the ownership of Common Units in connection with the resolution of WMLP’s bankruptcy process.

[mcp4]

Generally speaking, when and if a company emerges from Chapter 11 the old stock is cancelled and new stock is issued. The problem for investors is when and how to declare a stock "worthless" for tax purposes. It has to have zero value and be claimed in the tax year it becomes worthless. WLBAQ is still trading at about two cents so it certainly isn't at zero. Unless it is formally delisted and ceases trading by December 31, 2018 we can't claim it as a 2018 capital loss.

The alternative is to ask your broker to buy your shares by the end of this year. Then you have a record of having disposed of all of your interest in the company and can write off the loss.

[Spike1976]

what's going to happen over here?

[mcp4]

San Juan, NM, mine is to be sold. The entire production of the mine was used by the San Juan electrical generating plant but two of its four units are to be shut down.

According to a report in the Great Falls Tribune, it will be a "stalking horse" aution. In addition to most of the San Juan Mine assets the sale will also include "Colstrip, Montana, and Canadian assets."

[wayne49]

Thanks.

[Renee]

Before any consideration to buying or holding Preferred or Common shares of any public company in bankruptcy it is imperative to wait for and thoroughly understand the Reorganization PLAN. The PLAN should suggest or state categorically the outcomes for all classes of shares.

In most instances upon finalized reorganization all classes of shares are cancelled, so the company would need to affirm survival of specific claases of shares before buying or holding any shares.

Wait for the PLAN.

[wayne49]

That is a good concern because the shift is to renewable and cleaner energy. I get it. The problem also with China is that they are moving to cleaner energy as well. Where are they going to make their money and become profitable again? Good one

[wayne49]

What do you think about buying the preferreds? They are not liquidation and Canada mines and one other place is not in BK. They are reorganizing. comments?

[Renee]

Yes, Westmoreland Coal has Preferred Shares: Ticker: WMLPQ

Westmoreland Resource Partners Lp Com Unit Repstg Ltd Partner Int

[mcp4]

I'm also concerned about the long term ability to restore profitability. About the only operation is the mine the exports to Asia. They have a mine that is affected by a power plant scheduled to convert to natural gas.

[wayne49]

They filed chp 11 reorg. They will restructure. Is this a good risk/reward play where high risk on low pps can yield a higher return if WLBAQ dont get cancelled? They also must have good NOLs? Thoughts on the future of common stock holders? Any hope? Thanks.

[wayne49]

Do WLBAQ have any preferred stocks?

[Renee]

WLBA: effective Oct. 10,2018 WLBA will change to WLBAQ, bankruptcy:

http://otce.finra.org/DLSymbolNameChanges

[mcp4]

WLBA seems to be hanging on. I missed that they filed an 8-K on September 7th. They made an amendment to their May 2018 Bridge Loan. They are negotiation with Komatsu Financial regarding a lease of their Coal Valley facility.
8-K September 7, 2018

[mcp4]

WLBA's subsidiary Oxford Mining Company wants to mine area of the Perry State Forest in Ohio. A local paper's (Perry County Tribune) write up of a community meeting on Aug. 8th was all negative:

"...The company could be permitted to mine within 300 feet of residential homes and up to the lease line where there are not homes. Local landowners could experience structural damage to their homes, increased traffic on local roads, water contamination, and other issues..."

Ohio has a Reclamation Forfeiture Fund, which is a pool of money allocated for environmental remediation should a company to bankrupt. Want to guess why it is underfunded? Just last year Ohio transferred $5M out of the Fund into their general funds.

[mcp4]

Second quarter Q-10 is out. The crux of it is on page 7, where the company outlines long term debt due and the inability to pay long term obligations.

[mcp4]

Limited Default

Moody's today issued a statement that called Westmoreland's delayed interest payment on the 2022 notes a "Limited Default".

[mcp4]

Bought in at 0.85 and it's only gone down since. WLBA isn't out of the woods yet. It has suspended interest payments on the 2022 notes. Eventually investors' patience will run out. Sometimes a BK acknowledges the inevitable.

[vinc]

Already 14K shares get slapped at .15 before the open! Seems we will have a nice day here!

[USCInvest]

Saw this too last week. I had originally bought in at $1.23 and the past several weeks loaded big under $.16. Had over 200K shares with average price of $.21. Ladder the sells from .27-.34 and sold it all today. The upper sells didn't hit and sold out at .23 late in the day. If this drops again, I would recommend you average down hard and then sell on the next pop. I don't think they will go BK, but after reading the short term loan analysis, it seems they could at any time and then everything goes to zero. Be cautious....

[KOmani]

I am pretty sure that at least one of the individuals who reported ownership has taken over assets that were in bankruptcy.

It is unlikely that the creditors want to run the operation on their own and will install someone to do it.

Just letting you know.

Decent flips for now.

Today's bounce seems more like short covering.

[KOmani]

Interesting that the stock bounced a little.

Was it just short covering though?

Small trading position here. Market seems skittish on it, so not feeling comfortable adding.

10-15% flips are decent.

Might lose out on a big run though. That's just how things go.

[WallEye87]

I don't think so. The PR regarding the financing package is great news as it temporarily gets the company out of default with their creditors & allows them time to perform. But apparently it wasn't enough to spook the shorts or give the market confidence that a BK still was not forthcoming.

I held the stock at a much higher basis, but decided not to bail and dollar cost average my position as the stock dropped. Because... WLBA's creditors gave covenant waivers regarding the going concern assumptions in the 2017 YE FS. This gave hope that they may also entertain troubled debt restructuring and just maybe WLBA would not have to Chapter. The new financing package was a big step, but it contains post petition disclaimers and prior PR's did reference the company soliciting financing in conjunction with a BK reorg plan. In my opinion, We need more evidence of stabilization to really pop.

WLBA has positive EBITDA, meaning there's cash flow for creditors to work with, but they're walking a tight rope with limited capital. Thermal coal is a tough market because of the low price of natural gas. Met coal on the other hand could be lucrative with steel demand which has a lot of moving parts... Increased military spending, expected infrastructure bills, enforcement of tariffs, etc. This is one of the most entertaining lotto plays I've ever seen OTC. Legit company, heavily shorted on the NASDAQ, was on the brink of bankruptcy... If they can improve performance and not Chapter, it could be a home run. If they file, our shares are wallpaper. We'll see...

[T4KingOff]

Anyone watching MAXM on bid? Theyve been hit for about 20,000 shares at 0.22, but their bid of 2500 is not budging. They are loading big time.

[T4KingOff]

Big money is coming this way, this week is going to be fun. Count on it.

[eageleye]

That was an April 13th article. Now they have the financing....

[angelo2112]

So a private firm just be threw away 110,000,000.00 on WLBA?? Come on bud
I’m sure they know more about the inter workings than any of us and nobody just invests that much money without knowing they have a significant opportunity ahead of itself
Pretty safe to say this company is about to make some major strides here

[KOmani]

Is this just being punished because the financing news came out just before a holiday?

Will next week be better?

I understand that these are only questions, but maybe someone has a theory or two.

[KOmani]

The other Westmore ticker is trading at levels seen in March.

So, why is this ticker being more punished?

Why is this not trading in the $0.50s?

Any thoughts?

The company is paying off debt early as seen by the recent 8-K .... does this sound like the actions of a company facing some immediate threat?

[freddie me]

"Westmoreland Coal Shops for $100 Million Bankruptcy Loan"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/westmoreland-coal-shops-for-100-million-bankruptcy-loan-1523629649

Westmoreland Coal Co. said in its annual report to shareholders and the Securities and Exchange Commission that it may seek bankruptcy protection from its creditors, or that an involuntary petition for bankruptcy could be filed against the company.

“Either of which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and could place our shareholders at significant risk of losing all of their investment in our shares,” the report read.

Learn to read d/s

[retireat40]

Yet they just received $110 million in private financing? Try again.

[freddie me]

Company says bankruptcy and stock going to ZERO likely

dont believe the pumpers

[mcp4]

Long term however we do have to worry. Westmoreland’s mines are close to their customers, e.g. power plants. Some of those plants are scheduled to either be closed or converted to gas. Given the previous administration's hostility to coal, there will be a great reluctance to build or keep coal fired plants for fear that regulatory burdens will be reinstated. Sooner or later Democrats will return to power and I cannot see any one of them getting elected without an anti-coal, pro-renewables platform. (Not starting a political fight but it is the way it is.) No business will risk making huge capital expenditures if there is a high risk that they will not be able to realise returns on those investments.

So that would leave the export market. WLBA has one mine, the Coal Valley mine, that exports coal to power utilities in the Asia-Pacific region. Their competitors may be in a better logistical position for that market.

[angelo2112]

Nothing to worry about at all here! When there is big news like we had yesterday and the big boys miss out on the early run up they always force the stock back down for loading purposes that’s all this is
All I’m doing is accumulating this one
Nothing to think about in fact all that will happen is overthinking yourself out of making sick $$$$
Going to be a fun one for sure
.20 test again maybe .18-.185 then right back up

[KOmani]

Holiday week? Maybe next week there is more interest?

[WallEye87]

I am surprised that this is not the most popular lotto play on the pinks right now. It's one of the largest and oldest independent coal companies in the US which recently came off the NASDAQ. Seemed imminent that they were filing BK. Then Q417 results exceeded expectations & now a PR that a newly negotiated financing package throws them a life line while met coal futures are not shabby. WLB was recommended as a big short play by many services for a while. WLBA is not getting enough attention to run. Bid-Ask is gapping too easily and it seems some are day trading and others are mining the gap. The company is still not out of the woods, but I would think a lot of people are watching this one.

[KOmani]

Looks like sellers are tapped out in the low $0.20s

[Heycenda]

This will be around a dollar this year imo

[KOmani]

Nothing to worry about.

Someone shook the tree and some retail bailed.

[retireat40]

A lot of resistance in the .20-22 range. Thought we cleared this crap yesterday...

[DialedIn2Trade]

So much for that!

[DialedIn2Trade]

Maybe just was a morning panic? #LETSGO

[DialedIn2Trade]

Crazy...but we're green on the day!

[retireat40]

Well...this blows.

[retireat40]

Stockcharts has resistance at .37 and .63 with support at .23. 50DMA is .26 and 200DMA is $1.27.

http://stockcharts.com