CHARLESTON – Gov. Jim Justice has confirmed a media report that he has offered $300 million and half of the value of his family’s coal businesses to settle loans.
During his thrice-weekly COVID update September 27, Justice confirmed a Wall Street Journal report from earlier in the day saying the proposal is part of talks between his Bluestone Resources Inc. and Credit Suisse Group, which manages investment funds that now-defunct Greensill Capital used as its primary lending source.
Credit Suisse has said Justice once owed about $850 million, but the amount now is about $700 million. The Journal report says Justice’s companies have offered to pay $300 million through refinancing a portion of the loans through a third party. It also says more money from the sale or public offering of Bluestone.
“I think it would be very, very premature for me to have a whole lot of comment on it,” Justice said during today’s COVID update. “I think the Credit Suisse folks and ourselves are working together and working together really, really well. …
“We got the rug just jerked right out from underneath us, with the Greensill folks and with what happened to Greensill. I’ve said it over and over — bad actors, very bad actors.”
Last month, Justice’s companies settled with Virginia-based Carter Bank & Trust over loans totaling $368 million. Both sides also dismissed lawsuits they had filed against each other over the issue.
“From the standpoint of my family’s finances, they’re great,” Justice said during today’s briefing. “They’re absolutely great. The coal business is doing fantastic. The Greenbrier is doing great. Let’s just continue to move forward.”
Justice used the loans from Greensill to rebuild Bluestone after he bought it back from a Russia-based Mechel in 2015 for $3 million in cash plus future royalty payments. He sold the company in 2009 to Mechel in a cash and stock deal worth more than $400 million.
