J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are underwriters for this offering. The term “underwriters” shall mean either the singular or plural as context requires. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in an underwriting agreement among us, the Selling Stockholder and the underwriters, the Selling Stockholder has agreed to sell to the underwriters, and the underwriters have agreed to purchase from the Selling Stockholder, 29,560,619 shares of common stock (the “shares”).
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, the underwriters have agreed to purchase all of the shares sold under the underwriting agreement if any of these shares are purchased. If the underwriters default, the underwriting agreement provides that the underwriting agreement may be terminated.
We and the Selling Stockholder have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the shares, subject to prior sale, when, as and if accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the shares, and other conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
The underwriters have agreed to purchase the shares from the Selling Stockholder at a price of $58.15 per share, which will result in approximately $1.719 billion of proceeds to the Selling Stockholder before expenses. The underwriters propose to offer the shares from time to time for sale in one or more transactions on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The underwriters may effect such transactions by selling the shares to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or purchasers for whom they may act as agents or to whom they may sell as principal. The offering of the shares by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part. In connection with the sale of the shares offered hereby, the underwriters may be deemed to have received compensation in the form of underwriting discounts.
We estimate that our total expenses related to this offering will be approximately $1.0 million.
Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. The underwriters are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment bank, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. For example, in connection with our term loan agreement dated December 28, 2023, pursuant to which, and subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, the term loan lenders thereunder committed to provide a $4.7 billion senior unsecured term loan facility consisting of (i) a $2.0 billion 364-day tranche and (ii) a $2.7 billion 2-year tranche, the proceeds of which were used to finance a portion of the CrownRock Acquisition, an affiliate of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as a syndication agent and is a lender and an affiliate of RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as a documentation agent and is a lender.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. If any of the underwriters or their affiliates has a lending relationship with us, certain of those underwriters or their affiliates routinely hedge, certain of those underwriters or their affiliates are likely to hedge and certain other of those underwriters or their affiliates may hedge, their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, these underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.