Arch Coal Inc. announced it has reached an agreement with a majority of the lenders under its $1.9 billion first lien financing facility to significantly restructure the company's debt load. Arch Coal has entered into a restructuring support agreement with the members of an ad hoc group of lenders that hold more than 50% of the company's first lien debt. The lenders have agreed to support a restructuring transaction that will eliminate more than $4.5 billion in debt from Arch's balance sheet.

In order to facilitate the financial restructuring, Arch Coal and its domestic subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.