Carl Icahn Sells More Than Half of Chesapeake Stake -- Update
September 19 2016 - 6:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Josh Beckerman
Activist investor Carl Icahn has exited more than half of his
stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp., citing tax-planning reasons.
Mr. Icahn reported a 4.55% stake in the energy company, compared
with 9.4% in August.
In a statement, Mr. Icahn said "we believe that over the past
few years Doug Lawler and his team have done an admirable job,
especially in light of the circumstances. We reduced our position
to recognize a capital loss for tax-planning purposes."
Chesapeake shares fell 4.4% to $6.51 in after-hours trading.
In May 2012, Mr. Icahn disclosed a new stake in the Oklahoma
City company and said it suffered from "poor governance and
unchecked risk taking." Referring to his discussions with
management that followed a 2010 stock purchase, Mr. Icahn said the
"promises made in 2010 proved hollow."
Chesapeake said on May 1, 2012, that co-founder Aubrey McClendon
would step down as chairman. The next month, the company agreed to
give a board seat to a representative of Mr. Icahn and three more
to people chosen by Southeastern Asset Management Inc.
Mr. McClendon, a pioneer in shale-energy development, resigned
as chief executive in 2013, citing "philosophical differences" with
the board. Mr. Lawler, a former Anadarko Petroleum Corp. executive,
became CEO.
Mr. McClendon died in a car crash in March, a day after he was
indicted on a charge of conspiring to rig bids on oil and gas
leases.
In August, Chesapeake said it would exit the Barnett Shale in
Texas, a plan intended to improve its finances by moving out of an
asset that Mr. Lawler called "a very significant cash-flow
drain."
Mr. Icahn said in a filing that he now has 35.3 million shares,
down from 73 million in August.
--David Benoit contributed to this article.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 19, 2016 18:34 ET (22:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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