OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American
Energy – Utica, LLC (AEU) and The
Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) today responded to a meritless
lawsuit commenced against AEU by Chesapeake Energy Corporation
(NYSE: CHK).
Chesapeake has erroneously
included AEU and certain yet to be named investors in a lawsuit it
filed today against certain entities owned or controlled by
Aubrey K. McClendon including
American Energy Partners, LP, based on a dispute it has with Mr.
McClendon in which Chesapeake
alleges Mr. McClendon misappropriated certain Chesapeake trade secrets upon his separation
from Chesapeake in 2013.
Chesapeake clearly does not
understand the ownership or structure of AEU, which is controlled
by EMG, and Chesapeake has made no
attempt to understand the ownership structure prior to carelessly
and erroneously naming AEU as a party to its lawsuit.
The allegations in the Chesapeake lawsuit against AEU are meritless
given that all information used by AEU in connection with the
acquisition of its assets was either publicly available, provided
by the sellers of those assets or independently developed by The
Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) or W.D.
Von Gonten & Co., a widely regarded independent
petroleum engineering and geological firm with whom EMG has a long
standing relationship. EMG is the largest equity investor in
AEU followed by First Reserve (FR). Both EMG and FR have been
involved with AEU since the initial acquisition of its assets in
October, 2013 yet neither was contacted by Chesapeake prior to the filing of this
lawsuit.
AEU will immediately respond to and vigorously defend this
lawsuit and expects to be removed as a defendant as quickly as
possible. Additionally, AEU and EMG intend to bring any and
all appropriate counterclaims against Chesapeake for the filing of such a meritless
case without conducting any reasonable investigation into the
factual and legal basis for the claim and for any damages that are
incurred by any of such parties as a result.
About American Energy – Utica,
LLC:
American Energy – Utica, LLC is an
independent oil and natural gas company affiliated with American
Energy Partners, LP focused on the acquisition, development and
production of unconventional oil, natural gas liquids and natural
gas resources in the Utica Shale play in eastern Ohio.
About The Energy & Minerals Group:
EMG is the management company for a series of specialized private
equity funds. The Firm was founded by John
Raymond (majority owner and CEO) and John Calvert in 2006. EMG focuses on investing
across various facets of the global natural resource industry
including the upstream and midstream segments of the energy
complex. EMG has approximately $17.1
billion of regulatory assets under management (RAUM) and
approximately $8.1 billion in
commitments have been allocated across the energy sector since
inception. For additional information, please visit
www.emgtx.com.
About First Reserve:
First Reserve is the largest global private equity investment firm
exclusively focused on energy. With over 30 years of industry
insight, investment expertise and operational excellence, the Firm
has cultivated an enduring network of global relationships and
raised more than USD $30 billion of
aggregate capital since inception. Putting these to work, First
Reserve has completed more than 550 transactions (including
platform investments and add-on acquisitions) on six continents.
Its portfolio companies span the energy spectrum from upstream oil
and gas to midstream and downstream, including resources, equipment
and services and infrastructure. For additional information,
please visit www.firstreserve.com.
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SOURCE American Energy - Utica,
LLC