If this story — two companies agree to a big coal deal, only to meet resistance from the largest shareholder of the acquiring company — sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Just last year, Cliffs Natural Resources saw its multi-billion acquisition of Alpha Natural Resources fall apart after Harbinger Capital Partners, Cliffs’ largest shareholder, voiced its opposition to the deal.
Now, Alpha has run into problems in its own all-stock bid for rival Foundation Coal. Duquesne Capital Management, Alpha’s largest shareholder, said in a filing on Thursday that it has concerns about the deal, but gave no further details. Duquesne said it holds 8.31 percent of Alpha’s shares.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but I’m sure Alpha is hoping the similarities to its previous deal end here.
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