Lenders Offer $500 Million for Alpha Natural's Core Assets

The Wall Street Journal reported that existing lenders have offered distressed coal miner Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (OTCMKTS:ANRZQ) $500 million for its core assets. The move is reportedly a bid to get the company out of bankruptcy.
As quoted in the market news:

The offer is open to competition, and is linked to a business plan that will lay the groundwork for Alpha to emerge from chapter 11 by the end of June, court papers say.
In a statement, Alpha said the sale process was required as part of the company’s agreement with lenders that have been financing its chapter 11 turnaround effort. “It will also help inform our decision if certain properties should be sold, and which operations will remain upon completion of our reorganization in the coming months,” the company’s statement said.
Credit bidding allows existing secured lenders to bid by offering to cancel debts they are owed, instead of offering fresh cash. Papers filed Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., say Alpha’s existing lenders are also offering to assume liabilities with the businesses they propose to take on.
Creditors will weigh in on the sale proposal, and on Alpha’s reorganization deal, which was struck during desperate times in the industry. The company’s one of dozens of coal operations to seek bankruptcy protection in recent years, as prices for their products plunged and environmental and operating burdens remained high.

The motion for procedures to auction the assets, with the offer from existing lenders to serve as the opening bid to set a floor price, is scheduled for a court hearing later this month.