James River Coal Company (Nasdaq: JRCC), a producer of steam and industrial-grade coal, today announced that on January 30, 2007 it entered into a commitment letter with Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. and GE Commercial Finance, providing for the commitment of debt financing in the aggregate amount of up to $135.0 million.

The proposed credit facilities are anticipated to be in the form of senior secured credit facilities consisting of a synthetic letter of credit facility, a term loan, and a revolving credit facility. The closing date is anticipated to be on or before February 28, 2007.

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. has committed to provide 100% of the principal amount and to act as sole lead arranger of the following facilities:

* $60.0 million in a synthetic letter of credit facility

* $40.0 million in a term loan facility

GE Commercial Finance has committed to provide 100% of the revolving line of credit up to $35.0 million, including a $10.0 million letter of credit subfacility.

The proposed credit facilities will contain financial covenants that are usual and customary for financings of this kind, including, without limitation, financial covenants covering minimum EBITDA, maximum capital expenditures, and maximum total funded indebtedness.

The Company intends to utilize the funds to refinance existing secured indebtedness and replace existing letters of credit, to provide for working capital and other general purposes, and to pay the fees and expenses associated with the proposed credit facilities.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain statements in this press release, and other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of us are "forward- looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding future events and developments and our future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: changes in the demand for coal by electric utility customers; the loss of one or more of our largest customers; inability to secure new coal supply agreements or to extend existing coal supply agreements at market prices; failure to exploit additional coal reserves, including reserves contiguous to those currently held by our Midwest operations; increased capital expenditures; encountering difficult mining conditions; increased compliance costs; bottlenecks or other difficulties in transporting coal to our customers; delays in the development of new mining projects; increased costs of raw materials; lack of availability of financing sources; the effects of litigation, regulation and competition; and the other risks detailed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, you should not place undue reliance on such statements. These statements are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date of such statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.

CONTACT: James River Coal Company

Elizabeth M. Cook

Director of Investor Relations

(804) 780-3000

Source: prnewswire