Kentucky Energy (fka QMIN)

[pwrballl]

Oh YEAH!....

"The recent buyout of Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR) by Cleveland Cliffs Inc. (CLF) could ignite more than $50 billion worth of M&A deals in the U.S. coal industry over the next few years as Mainland China rushes to solve a major energy shortfall.

"In the next 12 months there will be an unprecedented amount of both domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions," Wilbur Ross, chairman of International Coal Group Inc. (ICO), told Bloomberg News. "U.S. reserves are undervalued relative to those in the rest of the world."

Ross, the billionaire investor who helped consolidate the U.S. coal and steel industries, considers this the start of a round of mergers that will prove Cleveland-Cliffs prescient in its Alpha bid.

The top eight U.S. coal producers, which are worth more than $50 billion, are possible takeover targets for a country desperate for resources. And compared with China, American coal companies are bargains.

China Shenhua Energy Co., Asia’s biggest coal company is valued at $15.52 for every ton of coal it holds, compared to $2.11 a ton for Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU), and $1.76 for International Coal, Bloomberg reported.

At a point when the U.S. economy is slowing under the weight of a growing financial crisis and spiking food-and-energy prices, escalating growth in the developing economies around the world has ignited a bull market for coal that analysts believe could last for at least 10 years.

And that’s going to lead to a major shift in the ownership of coal-related assets."

http://seekingalpha.com/article/85904-china-poised-to-pounce-on-u-s-coal-suppliers

Can you say CHA-CHING!

GLTA!!