Billionaire Zdenek Bakala agreed to restructure the debt of Czech coal miner New World Resources (NWR), doubling down on a company that, in its heyday, made him one of the country’s richest men, according to Bloomberg. Bakala’s BXR Group pledged to provide 185 million euros ($252 million) of additional capital. If approved, the deal will help cut NWR’s debt to 450 million euros from 775 million euros and extend debt maturity to 2020. The restructuring agreement comes after six consecutive quarters of losses for NWR, which has suffered from a continuous slump in coal prices and pressure from the Czech government to halt a plan to close its money-losing Paskov mine. In April, NWR agreed to keep the mine operating until 2017. It employs 3,000 workers and lost $80 million last year.
