Teco Coal going, going ... not gone yet

Teco Energy Inc. is finding it far more difficult to dump its coal-mining interests than the Tampa company anticipated.

Not only has the sale price of Teco Coal dropped at least once in the past year, but potential buyers have come and gone and come again. The utility company is now even poised to bring its original buyer, Cambrian Coal Corp., back into the mix after another unidentified buyer allowed a letter of intent to expire July 3.

Teco won't say how much this latest buyer was willing to pay, but its previous agreement with Kentucky-based Cambrian would have included $80 million in cash, as well as a possible additional $60 million over the next five years depending on how well the coal market does.

It was a significant reduction over the originally agreed price of $170 million. Yet last month Cambrian was not able to “satisfy the conditions” set in the purchase agreement, so Teco started to court a new buyer.

Cambrian remains in the mix, however. Teco tells the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its purchase agreement with Cambrian remains intact, and the Booth Energy affiliate could close the deal.

Holding on to Teco Coal already forced Teco Energy to take a $115.9 million pre-tax charge in 2014, and an additional charge is expected to appear on Teco's balance sheet for the quarter that ended June 30.