Foundation Coal Holdings Inc. / FCL

About Foundation Coal Holdings Inc.

999 Corporate Blvd., Suite 300, Linthicum Heights, Md. 21090
www.foundationcoal.com | 410-689-7500 | Founded: 2004

Industry: Energy | Category: Top 100 Companies

When Foundation Coal went public in December 2004, investors were skeptical. The initial public offering made a lot of money for the Blackstone Group and First Reserve Corp., the two firms that bought the company from its German parent, but it wasn't clear at the time that it would make money for investors.
It is clear now: The skeptics missed their chance. Coal prices rose, and Foundation earned big bonuses from its customers by providing cleaner coal, which reduces the pollution control costs of utilities. Analysts had projected profits would improve, but the company beat the estimates by roughly 50 percent.
Foundation stock, which languished a couple of dollars above the $20 IPO price for several months, caught fire, trading as high as $46.98 a share.
The strong performance enabled Blackstone and First Reserve to cash out their stakes in the company for big profits. The two buyout firms distributed their shares in Foundation to their investors, who then were free to sell them. That selling has driven down the price of Foundation stock over the past few months. Coal prices have come down — in line with oil prices — but the market is expected to remain strong, and Foundation plans to boost its output this year.

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: 2,911 | Local employees: 122