HeIn is perhaps best1969 knownhe forinitiated histhe hostile [[takeover]] of {{Interlanguage link multi|Sharon Steel Corporation|fr|3=Sharon Steel Corporation|lt=Sharon Steel|vertical-align=sup}} in 1969, one of the earliest such takeovers in the US. Sharon Steel had a [[Coke (fuel)|coke]] plant in [[Fairmont, West Virginia]], a steel plant in [[Farrell, Pennsylvania]], and a coal mine in Rachel, Pennsylvania. His purchase was motivated by the company's low valuation, level cash flow, and low debt. It was intended to become a source of cash for additional investments to capitalize on the rising price of coal during the [[energy crisis]] of the early 1970s. His investment would be the forerunner of the leveraged buyout and [[junk bonds]] business of the 1980s. Meanwhile, the Fairmont coke plant was one of the worst polluters in the [[Monongahela Valley]] and Posner stopped investing in it. It closed in 1979.<ref>Mark Reutter, [http://www.makingsteel.com/PosnerRaidsFairmont.html "The Raider and the Coal Town"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060222084800/http://www.makingsteel.com/PosnerRaidsFairmont.html |date=2006-02-22 }}, ''Southern Exposure'', Summer 1991</ref>
