Ashland Inc. sells remaining shares of Arch Coal, Inc.
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Ashland Inc. (NYSE : ASH) sold all of its 4,756,968 remaining shares of Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) common stock today, marking the completion of its distribution and sale of Arch Coal stock which began in March 2000. The sale was priced at $19.00 per share. The proceeds will be used to reduce corporate debt.
"We are particularly pleased with this final action in our long association with coal, and Arch Coal, specifically," said Paul W. Chellgren, Ashland Inc. chairman and chief executive officer. "Our shareholders and the corporation have benefited significantly from this strategy," he said.
Ashland Inc. first announced its interest to explore strategic alternatives for its investment in Arch Coal in June 1999.
The company distributed 17.4 million of its 22.1 million shares of Arch Coal, Inc., in the form of a taxable dividend on March 27, 2000 to shareholders of record on March 24, 2000. Holders of Ashland Inc. shares received 0.246097 shares of Arch Coal, Inc. stock for each share of Ashland Inc. stock they owned, with fractional shares being paid in cash. The remaining 4.7 million shares were sold through an underwritten public offering.
Arch Coal was created in July 1997 by the merger of Arch Mineral Corporationand Ashland Coal, Inc. Ashland Inc. owned 51 percent of Arch Mineral and 57 percent of Ashland Coal when the two companies merged.
Since the shares of Arch Coal, Inc. were distributed to Ashland Inc. shareholders in March 2000, the value of the stock has increased from $7.18 to $22.30, its closing price on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.
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