Bloomberg reported that three anonymous individuals had said talks with ICG began this summer and then restarted after the December 3 announcement by Massey chairman Don Blankenship that he would retire at the end of this year.

ICG chief executive Ben Hatfield, a former Massey employee of 23 years including an executive role from 1998 to 2001, was reportedly concerned about working for Massey again.

Owned by billionaire Wilbur Ross, ICG held an initial public offering in 2005 and now has a market value of about $US1.4 billion; conversely, Massey’s reported value is $5.2 billion.

West Virginia-based ICG holds 1.1 billion tons of reserves in Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.

Bloomberg reported that ArcelorMittal had also renewed its interest with the announcement of Blankenship’s departure. According to the anonymous sources, Arcelor, which has hired JPMorgan Chase as an adviser to any potential deal, initially assumed the executive would block any sales deal.

Another potential suitor still on the books is Alpha Natural Resources. The sources said a transaction was under consideration by the company’s board along with at least two other operators.

Neither Massey nor Alpha released public statements.