Indian conglomerate Essar buys W.Va. coal company
By Tim Huber, APFriday, March 5, 2010
Indian conglomerate buys W.Va. coal company
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Essar Group has agreed to buy West Virginia-based Trinity Coal.
Trinity’s owner, Boston-based Denham Capital, announced the $600 million deal with Essar Minerals on Friday. Trinity operates 13 mines — 10 surface and three underground — and employs about 650 people in West Virginia and Kentucky.
The deal includes about 200 million tons of reserves, about half of it metallurgical grade suitable for making steel.
Denham says the acquisition gives Essar coal in the U.S. to be integrated into its steel and power operations worldwide.
Both India and China have easily outpaced the U.S. and Europe during the global economic recovery. U.S. coal operators over the past year have announced a number of initiatives to shift business to serve those markets.
Essar, based in Mumbai, employs about 60,000 people with steel, energy, power, communications, mining and other operations in more than 20 countries.
