Arch and Peabody Scrap Their Coal Venture After Judge Blocks It

A proposed joint venture between the two biggest U.S. coal miners is dead after a federal judge in Missouri granted the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s request to block it while the regulator evaluated the proposal.

Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Resources Inc. would “substantially impair competition in the market for Southern Powder River Basin coal” with the venture, U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk in St. Louis wrote in her opinion, referring to the biggest U.S. coal-producing region, also known as the PRB.

By combining their operations in Wyoming and Colorado, Peabody and Arch hoped to cut costs as ...