Shares of James River Coal Co rose 16 percent on Monday, a day after the company agreed to buy metallurgical coal-focused International Resource Partners LP (IRP)for $475 million to cash in on the growing met coal demand from Asia. The thermal coal-focused company's bigger peers like Arch Coal , Alpha Natural Resources Inc and Patriot Coal Corp have indicated that they would ramp up lucrative metallurgical coal production this year, to tap into the surging steel demand in India and China. On Sunday, Richmond, Virginia-based James River agreed to buy IRP from Magnetar Capital's unit Lightfoot Capital Partners LP.
Source
