The potential transaction was initially announced by the companies on December 5, 2012. At that time, the companies announced they had entered into agreements for Ambre Energy to purchase CPE’s 50% interest in the Decker Mine in Montana and related assets and assume all reclamation liabilities, including Ambre Energy’s full replacement of CPE’s approximate $70.7 million in outstanding reclamation and lease bonds for the Decker mine. Those uncompleted agreements also provided, among other things, that Ambre Energy would grant CPE an option for up to 5 million metric tons per year of its throughput capacity at the proposed Millennium Bulk Terminals coal export facility and would make a future cash payment to Cloud Peak Energy.
Cloud Peak Energy provided an update in its Form 10-Q filing dated July 30, that the timing of any potential closing was uncertain and anticipated to depend on Ambre’s ability to replace Cloud Peak Energy’s outstanding reclamation and lease bonds for the Decker Mine. The companies continue to be in discussions and have jointly dismissed the previously disclosed Decker litigation without prejudice to allow time for their ongoing discussions and evaluations.
