Coal in the news
The coal mining accident so breathlessly covered in the news today has an oligopoly angle. The owner of the mined is a company called ICG (International Coal Group), which has been snapping up bankrupt and near bankrupt coal companies in the Midwest as it grows market share. It's the same technique that the company's holding group, WL Ross, used in first accumulating and then selling off distressed steel properties, as International Steel Group, ICG recently had a successful IPO.
The mine in question, the Sago mine in West Virginia, was the result of a recent deal, whereby ICG bought Anker West Virginia Mining Co. and took Sago over in November. The company has accumulated over 200 citations for mine safety lapses this year, most before the ICG takeover.
The question is whether ICG's image will be badly hurt by the crisis, enough to stop its acquisition campaign. At least some industry observers have remarked that Ross's group had a good safety record in the steel industry before its sold its holdings to Mittal Steel It will take some serious damage control for the company to escape a serious blow to its image and perhaps its future.
8:21:02 PM 
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