Polo's Mongolian coal interests have a potential resources of over 1
billion tonnes, with a majority of its coal licenses located in the South Gobi
coal region. This region hosts some of the largest metallurgical and thermal
coal resources in close proximity to
Under the agreement, Peabody would also be granted warrants to enable the company to acquire an approximate 15 percent equity interest in Polo. The transaction is targeted to close during the first quarter of 2009, subject to the completion of Peabody's due diligence review and other approvals.
"A joint venture with Polo's existing platform will accelerate the
development of Peabody's presence in one of the world's premier undeveloped
coal regions," said Peabody Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
"Polo is excited about the opportunity to join forces with a company of
the calibre of Peabody," said
Peabody is the world's largest private-sector coal company. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.
Polo is an emerging energy company focused on acquiring and developing
advanced stage coal and uranium properties in
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking as defined in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are based on numerous assumptions that the company believes are
reasonable, but they are open to a wide range of uncertainties and business
risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations as
of
CONTACT: Vic Svec (314) 342-7768
SOURCE Peabody Energy