Patriot Coal Stockholders Approve Issuance of Common Stock in Connection With the...

Patriot Coal Stockholders Approve Issuance of Common Stock in Connection With
the Acquisition of Magnum Coal Company

ST. LOUIS, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Patriot Coal Corporation
(NYSE: PCX) (the "Company") announced that its stockholders have approved the
issuance of common stock in connection with the pending acquisition of Magnum
Coal Company ("Magnum"), at a special meeting held today in St. Louis. Over
80% of the Company's outstanding shares were represented at the meeting, and
98% of the represented shares were voted in favor of the issuance. The
Company expects to close the transaction on Wednesday, July 23.
Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger
Agreement"), dated as of April 2, 2008, among the Company, Magnum, Colt Merger
Corporation, and ArcLight Energy Partners Fund I, L.P. and ArcLight Energy
Partners Fund II, L.P., acting jointly as the Stockholder Representative,
Magnum's stockholders will receive approximately 11.9 million shares of
newly-issued Patriot Coal common stock.
About Patriot Coal
Patriot Coal Corporation (the "Company") is the third largest producer and
marketer of coal in the eastern United States, with 21 Company-operated mines
and numerous contractor-operated mines in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin,
following the closing of the acquisition of Magnum. The Company ships to
domestic and international electric utilities, industrial users and
metallurgical coal customers, and controls approximately 1.9 billion tons of
proven and probable coal reserves, including Magnum. The Company's common
stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCX.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking as defined in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements
involve certain risks and uncertainties that may be beyond our control and may
cause our actual future results to differ materially from expectations. We do
not undertake to update our forward-looking statements. Factors that could
affect our results include, but are not limited to: changes in laws or
regulations; changes in general economic conditions, including coal and power
market conditions; the outcome of commercial negotiations involving sales
contracts or other transactions; the Company's dependence on coal supply
agreements with Peabody Energy Corporation in the near future; geologic,
equipment and operational risks associated with mining; supplier and contract
miner performance and the availability and cost of key equipment and
commodities; the Company's ability to replace coal reserves; labor
availability and relations; availability and costs of transportation; weather
patterns affecting energy demand; legislative and regulatory developments;
risks associated with environmental laws and compliance; the outcome of
pending or future litigation; and the availability and costs of competing
energy resources. The Company undertakes no obligation (and expressly
disclaims any such obligation) to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise. For additional information concerning factors that could
cause actual results to materially differ from those projected herein, please
refer to the Company's Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports.
Important Information for Stockholders
The Company has filed Amendment No. 2 to its Registration Statement on
Form S-4 (the "Registration Statement") with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the proposed issuance of Company
common stock in the transaction with Magnum Coal Company ("Magnum") that
includes a definitive proxy statement/prospectus. Investors and stockholders
are urged to read the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and any other
relevant documents filed with the SEC because they contain important
information about the proposed issuance. Investors and stockholders may
obtain these documents free of charge at the website maintained by the SEC at
http://www.sec.gov. In addition, documents filed with the SEC by the Company
are available free of charge by contacting investor relations by phone
at 314-275-3680, in writing to Janine A. Orf, Director of Investor Relations,
or by email to jorf@patriotcoal.com.
This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of
securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would
be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws
of such jurisdiction.
SOURCE Patriot Coal Corporation

Janine Orf of Patriot Coal Corporation, +1-314-275-3680