Massey Settles Hedge Fund Dispute

WEST PALM BEACH, FL (HEDGECO.NET) – Massey Energy, of Charleston, W.Va., one of the US’s largest coal miners, said it had reached an agreement with New York-based hedge fund Third Point, holder of approximately 5.9% of Massey Energy stock.

Massey settled the dispute over the makeup of its board of directors by agreeing to accept two Third Point nominees to the board and to pay Third Point 750-thousand dollars. In return, Third Point agreed not to sue Massey over the creation of a new board seat for one of the company’s nominees.

Daniel S. Loeb, founder and chief executive officer of Third Point, said: “Now that the election results have been certified, we hope that we can put this proxy contest behind us…..I look forward to working cooperatively with our fellow board members to deliver value to Massey’s shareholders.”

Third Point LLC, is an investment management hedge fund founded in 1995 that serves as investment manager or adviser to a variety of funds and managed accounts. The firm is based in New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Sunnyvale and Hong Kong.

Massey says the outcome frees up its board to work on more pressing matters. Massey is the nation’s fourth-largest coal company by revenue and has mines in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.