"Completing this spin-off was a key element in transforming our business portfolio," said Peabody Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H. Boyce.
Patriot (PCXCQ) Coal Corp.’s creditors want to investigate Peabody Energy Corp.’s 2007 spinoff of the coal producer, saying the transaction rid Peabody of $600 million in health-care and environmental liabilities.
“Patriot is a Peabody creation,” lawyers for creditors wrote in a court filing. “Peabody selected which of its mines would become Patriot’s. Peabody determined what projections would underlie Patriot’s business plan. Peabody decided which liabilities it would retain and which it would unload onto Patriot.”