That might have been a good move, if it had succeeded. Though...

That might have been a good move, if it had succeeded. Though MGX is not a coal miner, they have shown to be adept at cutting costs, something WES would find very difficult.

Though not invested in coal at the moment, I think met coal will have a good future for some time to come, as opposed to the uncertainties of thermal coal (which a WES asset acquisition would also bring). The sale of the coal assets to Coronado is a lost opportunity for MGX. I suspect that, even though MGX had the majority of the $700M price tag in cash, they wouldn't have wanted to take on debt for the remainder. The 25% premium royalty on any met coal price over US$145/t also clips the upside too much.