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 (the Company or Peabody Energy), 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 (the
Plan) under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and a related disclosure statement (the Disclosure Statement).
On
January 24, 2017, the Debtors filed with the Bankruptcy Court a response to certain objections to the Backstop Commitment Agreement, the Private Placement Agreement and the Plan Support Agreement and transactions contemplated thereby. The
Debtors response included copies of certain alternative transaction proposals received by the Debtors. The Debtors response and related documents 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.
Bankruptcy law does not permit
solicitation of acceptances of the Plan until the Bankruptcy Court approves the Disclosure Statement. Accordingly, 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.
All information contained in the Disclosure Statement is subject to change, whether as a result of amendments to the Plan, actions of third
parties or otherwise.
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 the Plan, the Disclosure Statement, the Plan Support Agreement, the Backstop Commitment Agreement, motions or other requests made to the
Bankruptcy Court in the Chapter 11 Cases, including maintaining strategic control as debtor-in-possession;
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Peabody Energys ability to 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, and relationships with third parties, regulatory
authorities and employees;
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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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the risks associated with third-party motions in the Chapter 11 Cases, which may interfere with Peabody Energys ability to confirm and consummate the Plan and restructuring generally;
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increased advisory costs to execute the Plan and 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 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 the proposed Plan 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 its expectation that the common stock will be cancelled and
extinguished upon confirmation of the proposed Plan 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 in the long-term, including Peabody Energys ability to confirm the Plan that restructures Peabody Energys debt obligations to address Peabody
Energys liquidity issues and allow emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases;
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Peabody Energys ability to maintain adequate debtor-in-possession financing or use cash collateral;
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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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the cost, availability and access to capital and financial markets, including the ability to secure new financing upon and 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 the Australian operations;
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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.
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