Court Upholds Decision to Prevent Wyoming Coal Merger

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — A federal court says it will uphold a Federal Trade Commission decision to block a proposed merger between two leading Wyoming coal companies.

The FTC had said a merger between Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Resources Inc. would have created a monopoly that could have resulted in higher energy prices for customers.

A U.S. District Court upheld that opinion on Tuesday.

The Gillette News-Record reports Arch Resources accounted for about 28% of coal production in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin in 2019.

However, the company’s revenue has steadily decreased as coal demand in Wyoming has gradually declined over the years.