Patriot Coal Corp said it settled all health and pension-related claims against Peabody Energy Corp in exchange for key funding, which would help the company emerge out of chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of the year.The two companies have been fighting over the funding of benefits for about 3,100 retirees that Peabody agreed to continue covering after it spun off the now-bankrupt Patriot Coal in October 2007.Peabody had later said it had no obligation to fund health and pension benefits for Patriot retirees affected by the company's insolvency, arguing that new labor deals between Patriot and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) effectively relieved Peabody of any funding obligations.However, Peabody continued to fund healthcare benefits for retirees during Patriot's bankruptcy proceedings, said Peabody's Chief Legal Officer Alexander Schoch.
Peabody Energy Corporation (Peabody) is a private-sector coal company. Shares of BTU traded higher by 0.12% or $0.02/share to $16.95. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $14.34 and as high as $29.84. On average, 5943510 shares of BTU exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4402506.
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