Long-term Debt

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Long-term Debt

Long-term Debt 

The Company’s total funded indebtedness (Indebtedness) as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 consisted of the following:

Debt Instrument (defined below, as applicable)	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
	(Dollars in millions)
6.000% Senior Secured Notes due March 2022 (2022 Notes)	$	—	$	23.1
8.500% Senior Secured Notes due December 2024 (2024 Peabody Notes)	—		62.6
10.000% Senior Secured Notes due December 2024 (2024 Co-Issuer Notes)	193.6		193.9
Senior Secured Term Loan due 2024 (Co-Issuer Term Loans)	188.8		206.0
6.375% Senior Secured Notes due March 2025 (2025 Notes)	77.5		334.9
Senior Secured Term Loan due 2025, net of original issue discount (Senior Secured Term Loan)	321.8		322.8
3.250% Convertible Senior Notes due March 2028 (2028 Convertible Notes)	320.0		—
Finance lease obligations	27.6		29.3
Less: Debt issuance costs	(31.2)		(34.8)
	1,098.1		1,137.8
Less: Current portion of long-term debt	19.1		59.6
Long-term debt	$	1,079.0	$	1,078.2

2021 Financing Activity

During the first quarter of 2021, the Company completed a series of transactions to, among other things, provide the Company with maturity extensions and covenant relief, while allowing it to maintain near-term operating liquidity and financial flexibility. These transactions included a senior notes exchange and related consent solicitation, a revolving credit facility exchange, various amendments to the Company’s existing debt agreements, and completion of a related surety transaction support agreement with the Company’s surety bond providers.

Subsequent to these transactions in the first quarter of 2021, the Company completed additional financing transactions during 2021 intended to improve its capital structure. Such transactions included the implementation of an at-the-market equity offering program pursuant to which the Company sold approximately 24.8 million shares of common stock for net cash proceeds of $269.8 million, the retirement of $270.9 million principal amount of existing debt through various open market purchases at an aggregate cost of $232.4 million, and the issuance of an aggregate 10.0 million shares of common stock in exchange for an additional $106.1 million principal amount of existing debt through multiple bilateral transactions with debt holders.

In the event of allowable open market purchases of its debt, the terms of the 2024 Peabody Notes and the letter of credit facility entered into by the Company in connection with the 2021 financing activity (Company LC Agreement) require the Company to make a mandatory repurchase offer to those debt and lien holders. In general, the repurchase offers equate to 25% of the principal amount of priority lien debt repurchased in the preceding quarter at a price equal to the weighted average repurchase price paid over that quarter. The open market debt repurchases completed during the three months ended December 31, 2021 necessitated a mandatory repurchase offer of up to $38.6 million of 2024 Peabody Notes, at 94.940% of their aggregate accreted value, plus accrued and unpaid interest, and a concurrent repurchase offer of priority lien obligations under the Company LC Agreement. The offer resulted in the valid tender and purchase of $0.1 million aggregate accreted value of 2024 Peabody Notes and $30.0 million aggregate principal and commitment amounts under the Company LC Agreement during the three months ended March 31, 2022. The Company’s purchase of the principal and commitment amounts under the Company LC Agreement was effected by the posting of $28.5 million of collateral with the administrative agent and did not reduce the availability under the facility. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company made no other open market purchases of its debt.

The 2024 Co-Issuer Notes and the Co-Issuer Term Loans are also subject to mandatory prepayment offers at the end of each six-month period, beginning with June 30, 2021, whereby the Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the 2024 Co-Issuer Notes indenture) generated by the Wilpinjong Mine during each such period will be applied to the principal of such notes and loans on a pro rata basis, provided that the liquidity attributable to the Wilpinjong Mine would not fall below $60.0 million. Such prepayments may be accepted or declined at the option of the debt holders. Based upon the Wilpinjong Mine’s results for the six-month period ended December 31, 2021, a required offer to prepay $105.6 million of total principal resulted in the prepayment of $17.2 million of Co-Issuer Term Loans principal, $0.3 million of 2024 Co-Issuer Notes principal, and a related loss on early debt extinguishment of $0.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022.

The 2021 financing activity and related agreements are more fully described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 18, 2022.

3.250% Convertible Senior Notes due 2028

On March 1, 2022, through a private offering, the Company issued $320.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 3.250% Convertible Senior Notes due 2028 (the 2028 Convertible Notes). The 2028 Convertible Notes are senior unsecured obligations of the Company and are governed under an indenture.

The Company used the proceeds of the offering of the 2028 Convertible Notes to redeem the remaining $62.6 million of its outstanding 2024 Peabody Notes and, together with available cash, approximately $257.4 million of its outstanding 2025 Notes, and to pay related premiums, fees and expenses relating to the offering of the 2028 Convertible Notes and the redemptions. The redemption of existing notes was deemed a debt extinguishment for accounting purposes. The Company capitalized $11.2 million of debt issuance costs related to the offering and recognized a loss on early debt extinguishment of $23.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022.

The 2028 Convertible Notes will mature on March 1, 2028, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased in accordance with their terms. The 2028 Convertible Notes will bear interest from March 1, 2022 at a rate of 3.250% per year payable semi-annually in arrears on March 1 and September 1 of each year, beginning on September 1, 2022. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company incurred interest expense of $1.0 million related to the 2028 Convertible Notes.

The 2028 Convertible Notes will be convertible at the option of the holders only in the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter commencing after the calendar quarter ending on June 30, 2022, if the last reported sale price per share of the Company’s common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price for each of at least 20 trading days during the 30 consecutive trading days ending on, and including, the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter; (2) during the five consecutive business days immediately after any five consecutive trading day period (such five consecutive trading day period, the Measurement Period) in which the trading price per $1,000 principal amount of 2028 Convertible Notes for each trading day of the Measurement Period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price per share of the Company’s common stock on such trading day and the conversion rate on such trading day; (3) upon the occurrence of certain corporate events or distributions on the Company’s common stock; (4) if the Company calls any 2028 Convertible Notes for redemption; and (5) at any time from, and including, September 1, 2027 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately before the maturity date.

Upon conversion, the Company may satisfy its conversion obligation by paying or delivering, as applicable, cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, at the Company’s election, in the manner and subject to the terms and conditions provided in the indenture. The initial conversion rate for the 2028 Convertible Notes will be 50.3816 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of 2028 Convertible Notes, which represents an initial conversion price of approximately $19.85 per share of the Company’s common stock. The initial conversion price represents a premium of approximately 32.5% to the $14.98 per share closing price of the Company’s common stock on February 24, 2022. The conversion rate is subject to adjustment under certain circumstances in accordance with the terms of the indenture. If certain corporate events described in the indenture occur prior to the maturity date, or the Company delivers a notice of redemption (as described below), the conversion rate will be increased for a holder who elects to convert its 2028 Convertible Notes in connection with such corporate event or notice of redemption, as the case may be, in certain circumstances.

The Company may not redeem the 2028 Convertible Notes prior to March 1, 2025. The Company may redeem for cash all or any portion of the 2028 Convertible Notes, at its option, on or after March 1, 2025 and on or before the 40th scheduled trading day immediately before the maturity date, at a cash redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 2028 Convertible Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date, but only if the last reported sale price per share of the Company’s common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price on (1) each of at least 20 trading days, whether or not consecutive, during the 30 consecutive trading days ending on, and including, the trading day immediately before the date the Company sends the related redemption notice; and (2) the trading day immediately before the date the Company sends such notice. However, the Company may not redeem less than all of the outstanding 2028 Convertible Notes unless at least $75 million aggregate principal amount of 2028 Convertible Notes are outstanding and not called for redemption as of the time the Company sends the related redemption notice. No sinking fund is provided for the 2028 Convertible Notes.

If the Company undergoes a fundamental change (as defined in the indenture), noteholders may require the Company to repurchase their 2028 Convertible Notes at a cash repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 2028 Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date.

Margin Financing Arrangement

On March 7, 2022, the Company entered into a credit agreement, by and among the Company, as borrower, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners LLC, as administrative agent, and the lenders party thereto (the Credit Agreement). The Credit Agreement provides for a $150 million unsecured revolving credit facility (the Revolving Facility), which will mature on April 1, 2025 and bears interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum on drawn amounts.

The Revolving Facility is intended to support the Company’s near-term liquidity requirements, particularly with respect to the cash margin requirements associated with the Company’s coal derivative contracts, which fluctuate depending upon underlying market coal prices.

Concurrently with the Credit Agreement, the Company entered into an agreement with Goldman Sachs & Company LLC to act as sales agent for at-the-market equity offerings of up to $225.0 million of the Company’s common stock.

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company borrowed and repaid $225.0 million under the Revolving Facility using net proceeds of $222.0 million from at-the-market issuances of 10.1 million shares of common stock and available cash. The equity offering agreement limit was reached as a result of these issuances and may not be further utilized without amendment and approval by the sales agent. The Company had no outstanding borrowings and no availability under the Revolving Facility at March 31, 2022.

The Credit Agreement contains customary covenants that, among other things, limit the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ ability to incur additional indebtedness, pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of capital stock or make certain other restricted payments or investments, enter into agreements that restrict distributions from subsidiaries, sell or otherwise dispose of assets, enter into transactions with affiliates, create or incur liens, and merge, consolidate or sell all or substantially all of their assets.

Borrowings under the Revolving Facility are unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, on a senior unsecured basis by substantially all of the Company’s material domestic subsidiaries (excluding any unrestricted subsidiaries).

Retirement of 2022 Notes

On March 31, 2022, the Company retired the remaining principal balance of 2022 Notes upon maturity for $23.1 million.

Interest Charges

The Company incurred total interest expense of $39.4 million and $52.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. These amounts included $13.5 million and $10.9 million, respectively, related to financial assurance instruments such as surety bonds and letters of credit, with the remainder primarily related to the Company’s funded debt.

Of total interest expense incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, $3.8 million and $4.9 million, respectively, was comprised of non-cash charges primarily related to the amortization of debt issuance costs.

Cash payments for interest amounted to $37.2 million and $56.3 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The Senior Secured Term Loan is the Company’s only outstanding variable rate debt, which bore interest at LIBOR plus 2.75% per annum at March 31, 2022.

Covenant Compliance

The Company was compliant with all relevant covenants under its debt agreements at March 31, 2022, including the minimum aggregate liquidity requirement under the Company LC Agreement which requires the Company’s restricted subsidiaries to maintain minimum aggregate liquidity of $125.0 million at the end of each quarter through December 31, 2024.

Finance Lease Obligations

Refer to Note 9. “Leases” for additional information associated with the Company’s finance leases, which pertain to the financing of mining equipment used in operations.