BlackRock Stake in U.S. Coal Giant Shrinks Amid Climate Vow

(Bloomberg) -- Even before publicly vowing to unwind its investments in coal, BlackRock Inc. began cutting its stake in the biggest U.S. miner.

The world’s largest asset manager had about 4.87 million shares of Peabody Energy Corp. as of Dec. 31, a 5% stake, according to a regulatory filing Friday. That’s down 14% from the end of January 2019, making it the miner’s sixth-largest holder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

BlackRock announced last month that it would put climate change at the heart of its strategy, a plan that includes exiting both debt and equity investments in thermal coal companies in its $1.8 trillion active portfolios. Financial companies around the world are facing increasing pressure to back away from the dirtiest fossil fuel to help fight global warming.

Climate is now a “defining factor” for the global economy, BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink told shareholders in his annual letter.

Read More: BlackRock Takes Siemens to Task For Australia Coal Controversy

On Wednesday, Peabody’s biggest shareholder -- activist investor Elliott Management Corp. -- moved to increase control over the mining company. Peabody’s shares are down more than 70% in the past year as the coal industry faces waning demand from utilities and slumping prices, and slipped as much as 7.9% Friday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Will Wade in New York at wwade4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Ryan at jryan173@bloomberg.net, Pratish Narayanan

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