ARCHIVE

Patriot secures better terms

TROUBLED company Patriot Coal has amended its Debtor in Possession Credit Agreement to improve th...

Staff Reporter

This article is 12 years old. Images might not display.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing issued yesterday Patriot said it had secured the credit agreement amendment on August 7.

It changes the credit agreement to decrease the rate term loans under that agreement will bear interest to a per annum rate equal to the Eurocurrency Rate plus 7.75% or the base rate plus 6.75%.

Both the Euro currency and base rates are defined within the credit agreement.

Among other things, the amendment also changes the credit agreement to decrease the fee Patriot has to pay if it elects to extend the maturity date of the credit agreement to 0.25% of the aggregate revolving credit commitments and term loans outstanding on the extension date.

The credit agreement is between Patriot Coal and some of its subsidiaries with Citibank, as administrative agent, Citicorp North America, the New York branch of Barclays Bank and Bank of America as letters of credit issuers and several other lender parties.

Patriot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 9 and has since received bankruptcy court approval for a $US802 million debtor-in-possession finance package.

The company blamed cancelled contracts, rising costs and plummeting coal prices for its woes. It tried reducing production but this proved to be unsuccessful.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence: Future Fleets Report 2025

MMI Future Fleets Report 2025 looks at how companies are using alternative energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emmissions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence: Automation and Digitalisation Report 2024

Exclusive research for Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation and Digitalisation Report 2024 shows mining companies are embracing cutting-edge tech

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.