By Daniel Gilbert
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ended an
investigation of Chesapeake Energy Corp. and its former Chief
Executive, Aubrey McClendon, the company said on Wednesday.
The probe, which began in May 2012, concerned a perk that
allowed Mr. McClendon to invest in oil and gas wells that
Chesapeake drilled. Mr. McClendon, who left the company a year ago,
had pledged his stakes in the wells as collateral to borrow more
than $1 billion--much of it from financial firms that also invested
in Chesapeake.
Chesapeake said the SEC's Fort Worth office advised it last
month the investigation was over and that it "did not intend to
recommend an enforcement action." A company spokesman declined to
comment. Mr. McClendon didn't respond to a message seeking comment
late Wednesday.
The disclosure was part of Chesapeake's first-quarter earnings
report. The country's second-biggest natural gas producer reported
a $374 million profit, bringing in more cash than it spent for the
first time in years. Chesapeake's stock price rose 4.4% on
Wednesday to close at $29.61 a share.
Mr. McClendon is now chief executive of American Energy
Partners, a new private company that has hired Chesapeake to drill
wells in Ohio.
Write to Daniel Gilbert at daniel.gilbert@wsj.com
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