Alpha Natural Resources (ANR: sentiment, chart, options) will receive $70 million from Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF: sentiment, chart, options) following news that the 2 firms have terminated their merger agreement. According to a press release issued late Monday, "each board's decision was made after considering various issues, including the current macroeconomic environment, uncertainty in the steel industry, shareholder dynamics and risks and costs of potential litigation."

Alpha and Cliffs also stated that they plan to work together "to realize synergies in their respective coal operations." One synergy that's already been realized, to awkward effect, is CLF's name change. The company, formerly known as Cleveland-Cliffs, recently dubbed itself Cliffs Natural Resources in anticipation of the deal's successful closure.

Cliffs hasn't indicated yet whether it will revert to its maiden name, but the split-up appears to be somewhat amicable -- Alpha has agreed to dismiss the litigation pending against its former suitor. In early trading, CLF is up 1.8%, while ANR has plunged roughly 12% to hit a new annual low of $21.80.