Chesapeake Energy Works on a Recovery Plan With Evercore's Advisers
December 14 2015 - 3:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Matt Jarzemsky And Ryan Dezember
Chesapeake Energy Corp. is working with restructuring advisers
at Evercore Partners Inc. to shore up its balance sheet as
commodity prices extend their decline, according to people familiar
with the matter.
The Evercore bankers are advising the natural-gas producer on
potential measures to reduce its $11.6 billion debt load, such as
exchanging existing bonds at a discount for new securities or
selling assets, the people said.
The Oklahoma City company, co-founded in 1989 by famed
wildcatter Aubrey McClendon, became one of the dominant U.S. gas
explorers during the shale boom. Fueled by cheap debt, Chesapeake
expanded aggressively in Ohio, Texas and other parts of the U.S.,
becoming the second-largest U.S. natural-gas producer behind Exxon
Mobil Corp.
But the tumble in natural gas prices has hurt the company, which
has posted three straight quarterly losses this year. Chesapeake
ended September with $1.8 billion in cash, down from $4.1 billion
at the end of 2014, according to regulatory filings.
Chesapeake stock has fallen 79% this year to around $4.09 per
share. Its market capitalization currently stands at around $2.7
billion, down from $11.4 billion a year ago.
Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@wsj.com and Ryan
Dezember at ryan.dezember@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2015 15:41 ET (20:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024