Alpha Natural makes offer for Massey Energy: report

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Alpha Natural Resources (ANR.N) has made an offer for rival U.S. coal miner Massey Energy MEE.N, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing members of Massey Energy's board.

ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS), the world's largest steelmaker, has expressed an interest in acquiring Massey but the board had not decided to start a formal auction process, the paper said.

Massey directors "are not near a decision point" about whether to sell the company or acquire another business, Bobby Inman, Massey's chairman, told the paper. after a board meeting.

Massey would not comment on the matter, while Alpha Natural Resources and ArcelorMittal were not available for comment.

Massey, based in Richmond, Virginia, has been under increasing scrutiny by federal mine safety regulators since an April 5 explosion that killed 29 workers, the deadliest U.S. coal mining disaster in 40 years.

The company's financial results have suffered since April, and Massey has said it was weighing strategic options, sparking talk it might be bought.

Massey has a market capitalization of $5.2 billion, based on Monday's close at $51.81 after its share price rose 1.3 percent.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Massey was exploring options including its sale or the takeover of a rival, International Coal Group (ICO.N).

Massey's discussions with International Coal, which started early this year, resumed again after a brief lull on December 3 following Massey chief executive Don Blankenship's decision to retire at the end of this year, Bloomberg reported.

(Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by Dan Lalor)