After reports that Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) had hired a restructuring attorney, the troubled company’s stock fell more than 57% on Feb. 8.
Chesapeake has been trying to sell itself out of a financial hole for several years by divesting assets. The company also made recent moves to free up more money through amended debt agreements and staff reductions.
While the stock rebounded after the company released a statement saying it had no plans to pursue bankruptcy, the stock continued to trade more than a third below its opening price of $2.56 in early afternoon trading.
The stock initially fell to $1.50 within a couple of hours following news that the company had hired a “restructuring attorney” from Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
Chesapeake, however, said the firm has served as its counsel since 2010 and continues as its adviser as the company seeks to further strengthen its balance sheet.
“Chesapeake currently has no plans to pursue bankruptcy and is aggressively seeking to maximize value for all shareholders,” the company said.
Chesapeake has been fighting off its debt since before the downturn; regarding the near term, the company said in December that it is working to amend its credit facility and divest more noncore assets.
In 2015, Chesapeake’s sales included divesting all of its oil and gas properties in the Anadarko Basin as part of an $840 million deal. In a related transaction, the company sold noncore properties adjacent to the properties to FourPoint Energy for $90 million.
The company also:
- Sold noncore leasehold interests in the Marcellus Shale to a subsidiary of Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE: RICE) for net proceeds of $233 million;
- Divested noncore leasehold interests, producing properties and 61 wellhead compressor units in South Texas to Hilcorp Energy Co. for net proceeds of $133 million; and
- Received proceeds of roughly $387 million from other noncore oil and natural gas properties.
As of September 2015, Chesapeake’s long-term net debt was $10.7 billion. In late December, the company used the proceeds from a distressed exchange offer to reduce its debt by about $1.5 billion, Simmons & Co. International said.
The company’s near-term maturities are less than $2 billion through 2018, before spiking to roughly $5 billion in 2019.
Chesapeake had $5.7 billion in cash and an undrawn credit facility as of September.
Wells Fargo analysts have said that the company’s liquidity—including $4 billion in an undrawn revolver and $1.5 billion in cash—is its lifeline, giving Chesapeake time to sell off more pieces of its portfolio.
The company most recently said it was pursuing the sale of buildings and land in Oklahoma, West Virginia and the Fort Worth, Texas, area.
Bob Brackett, senior analyst for Bernstein Research, said the company was also reported to have hired Evercore last December to help overcome its debt burden.
In September, the company reduced its workforce by 15%, incurring a $55 million charge for one-time termination benefits to be paid in fourth-quarter 2015.
In January, Chesapeake also suspended the dividends on its preferred stock.
“We continue to see better risk-reward in other names, but we note that while CHK has little equity value at spot prices, our target price reflects a world of $68 WTI and $3 Henry Hub,” Brackett said. “If CHK can remain a going concern long enough, the stock would rebound along with commodity prices.”
Darren Barbee can be reached at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.
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