The Russian metals and mining group Mechel has plans to sell its U.S. business. The company has appointed investment bank JP Morgan for organizing the transaction. The reason for  Mechel’s decision to dispose of its American assets is that coal exports are plummeting in the United States, and the company now has a debt of over USD9 billion. In Asia, Mechel Bluestone had to face an oversupplied market, which is why coal exports for the company’s division in the U.S. declined. As such, the company stopped operating its mines in the U.S. at the end of last year. This year, some of the mines have been reopened, but business is not good.

When the Russian company first considered purchasing production assets in the United States, Mechel owned some Bluestone shares. In the year 2009, the company bought the rest of the shares from their private owners, paying some USD425 million. The overall value of the company at that time was almost USD800 million, which also included a debt of USD135 million.