Item 7.01
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Regulation FD Disclosure
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As previously disclosed, on April 13, 2016, Peabody
Energy Corporation, a Delaware corporation (Peabody Energy or the Company), and a majority of the Companys wholly owned domestic subsidiaries, as well as one international subsidiary in Gibraltar (collectively with the
Company, the Debtors), filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the U.S. Code (the Bankruptcy Code) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (the Bankruptcy
Court). The Debtors Chapter 11 cases (collectively, the Chapter 11 Cases) are being jointly administered under the caption In re Peabody Energy Corporation, et al., Case
No. 16-42529.
Also as previously disclosed, on December 22, 2016, the Debtors filed
with the Bankruptcy Court a Joint Plan of Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and a related Disclosure Statement. On January 25, 2017, the Debtors filed with the Bankruptcy Court the First Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization
and the First Amended Disclosure Statement. On January 27, 2017, the Debtors filed with the Bankruptcy Court the Second Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization (as amended, the Plan) and the Second Amended Disclosure Statement (as
amended, the Disclosure Statement) to address certain modifications resulting from a hearing before the Bankruptcy Court on January 26, 2017. Thereafter, on January 27, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court issued an order approving the
Disclosure Statement. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Current Report on Form
8-K
have the meanings set forth in the Plan.
As contemplated by the Plan, On March 6, 2017, the Debtors filed with the Bankruptcy Court a supplement (the Plan Supplement)
to the Plan. The Plan Supplement includes draft versions of certain documents (the Documents) related to the Plan and referenced therein, including, among other things, (i) the trust agreement, to be dated prior to the effective
date of the Plan, between the Debtors, the Gold Fields Debtors and the Gold Fields Liquidating Trustee, governing the Gold Fields Liquidating Trust; (ii) the revised material terms of Reorganized PECs Long Term Incentive Plan;
(iii) the registration rights agreement between Reorganized PEC, the holders of Reorganized PEC Common Stock and the holders of the Preferred Equity; (iv) a revised list of executory contracts and unexpired leases to be assumed or assumed
and assigned; (iv) a revised list of executory contracts and unexpired leases to be rejected; (v) a description of the Restructuring Transactions; (vi) forms of constituent documents for Reorganized PEC; (vii) forms of
constituent documents for the other reorganized Debtors; and (viii) a list of initial officers and directors of Reorganized PEC and the other reorganized debtors. The Debtors reserve the right to add additional documents to the Plan Supplement
or to alter, amend, modify or supplement any of the Documents. In addition, on March 6, 2017, the Company filed with the Bankruptcy Court a Notice Regarding Debtors Achievement of Bonding Solution (the Notice). Copies of the
Plan, Plan Supplement and Notice are available free of charge at www.kccllc.net/Peabody. The information set forth on the foregoing website shall not be deemed to be a part of or incorporated by reference into this Form
8-K.
Also on March 6, 2017, the Company issued press releases announcing (i) the selection of
the members of the Companys board of directors following emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and (ii) the Companys plans for its U.S. reclamation assurances, which relates to the Notice. Copies of the press releases are attached
hereto as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 and incorporated herein by reference.
Nothing contained herein is intended to be, nor should it be
construed as, a solicitation for a vote on the Plan. The Plan will become effective only if it is confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court. There can be no assurance that the Bankruptcy Court will confirm the Plan or that the Plan will be implemented
successfully.
The information set forth in and incorporated into this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form
8-K
is being furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 of Form
8-K
and shall not be deemed filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any of Peabody Energys filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, whether made before or after the date hereof and regardless of any general incorporation language in such filings, except to the extent expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing. The
filing of this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form
8-K
shall not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information herein that is required to be disclosed solely by reason of Regulation FD.
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements include statements that relate to the intent, beliefs, plans or expectations of Peabody Energy or its management at the time of this Current Report, as well as any estimates or projections for the outcome of events that
have not yet occurred at the time of this Current Report. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include expressions such as believe anticipate,
expect, estimate, intend, may, plan, predict, will and similar terms and expressions. All forward-looking statements made by Peabody Energy are predictions and not
guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and factors relating to Peabody Energys operations and business environment, and the progress of its Chapter 11 Cases, all of which are difficult to predict and
many of which are beyond Peabody Energys control. These risks, uncertainties and factors could cause Peabody Energys actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such
factors include, but are not limited to: those described under the Risk Factors section and elsewhere in Peabody Energys most recently filed Annual Report on Form
10-K
and subsequent filings
with the SEC, including its Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q
for the quarters ended March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2016, which are available on Peabody Energys website at www.peabodyenergy.com and
on the SECs website at www.sec.gov, such as unfavorable economic, financial and business conditions, as well as risks and uncertainties relating to the Chapter 11 Cases, including, but not limited to:
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Peabody Energys ability to obtain bankruptcy court approval with respect to motions or other requests made to the bankruptcy court in connection with the Chapter 11 Cases, including maintaining strategic control
as
debtor-in-possession;
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Peabody Energys ability to negotiate, develop, confirm and consummate the Plan;
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the effects of the Chapter 11 Cases on Peabody Energys operations, including customer, supplier, banking, insurance and other relationships and agreements;
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bankruptcy court rulings in the Chapter 11 Cases as well as the outcome of all other pending litigation and the outcome of the Chapter 11 Cases in general;
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the length of time that Peabody Energy will operate under Chapter 11 protection and the continued availability of operating capital during the pendency of the proceedings;
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risks associated with third-party motions in the Chapter 11 Cases, which may interfere with Peabody Energys ability to confirm and consummate a plan of reorganization and restructuring generally;
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increased advisory costs to execute a plan of reorganization;
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the impact of the New York Stock Exchanges delisting of Peabody Energys common stock on the liquidity and market price of Peabody Energys common stock and on Peabody Energys ability to access the
public capital markets;
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the likelihood that Peabody Energys common stock will be cancelled and extinguished upon confirmation of a proposed plan of reorganization with no payments made to the holders of Peabody Energys common
stock;
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the volatility of the trading price of Peabody Energys common stock and the absence of correlation between any increases in the trading price and Peabody Energys expectation that the common stock will be
cancelled and extinguished upon confirmation of a proposed plan of reorganization with no payments made to the holders of Peabody Energys common stock;
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Peabody Energys ability to continue as a going concern including its ability to confirm a plan of reorganization that restructures Peabody Energys debt obligations to address liquidity issues and allows
emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases;
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the risk that the Plan may not be accepted or confirmed, in which case there can be no assurance that the Chapter 11 Cases will continue rather than be converted to chapter 7 liquidation cases or that any alternative
plan of reorganization would be on terms as favorable to holders of claims and interests as the terms of the Plan;
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Peabody Energys ability to use cash collateral;
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the effect of the Chapter 11 Cases on Peabody Energys relationships with third parties, regulatory authorities and employees;
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the potential adverse effects of the Chapter 11 Cases on Peabody Energys liquidity, results of operations, or business prospects;
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Peabody Energys ability to execute its business and restructuring plan;
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increased administrative and legal costs related to the Chapter 11 Cases and other litigation and the inherent risks involved in a bankruptcy process;
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the cost, availability and access to capital and financial markets, including the ability to secure new financing after emerging from the Chapter 11 Cases;
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the risk that the Chapter 11 Cases will disrupt or impede Peabody Energys international operations, including its business operations in Australia;
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and other risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements made by Peabody Energy in this Current Report, or elsewhere, speak only as of the date on which
the statements were made. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is not possible for Peabody Energy to predict all of these events or how they may affect it or its anticipated results. Peabody Energy does not undertake any
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law. In light of these risks and uncertainties, readers should keep in mind that the events referenced by any forward-looking statements made in this Current
Report may not occur and should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
The Plan provides that Peabody Energy equity
securities will be canceled and extinguished upon confirmation of the Plan by the Bankruptcy Court, and that the holders thereof would not be entitled to receive, and would not receive or retain, any property or interest in property on account of
such equity interests. The Plan also sets forth the proposed recoveries for Peabody Energys other securities. Trading prices for Peabody Energys equity or other securities may bear little or no relationship during the pendency of the
Chapter 11 Cases to the actual recovery, if any, by the holders thereof at the conclusion of the Chapter 11 Cases. In the event of cancellation of Peabody Energy equity securities, as contemplated by the Plan, amounts invested by the holders of such
securities would not be recoverable and such securities would have no value. Accordingly, Peabody Energy urges caution with respect to existing and future investments in its equity or other securities.