Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) were halted in the late morning Monday after the stock had plummeted by about 50% with news pending. Early reports citing people familiar with the situation said the oil and gas producer had hired restructuring lawyers. Shares were down about 35% when trading was halted.
About half an hour later, Chesapeake confirmed that attorneys for Kirkland & Ellis, a firm that has provided services to Chesapeake since 2010, “continues to advise the company as it seeks to further strengthen its balance sheet following its recent debt exchange.” Then the money quote:
Chesapeake currently has no plans to pursue bankruptcy and is aggressively seeking to maximize value for all shareholders.
The country’s second-largest natural gas producer, Chesapeake has been saddled with crushing debt loads for years. Under founder and former CEO Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake amassed millions of acres of leases and piled up debts of more than $13 billion as it developed both more leasing and more producing wells.
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The debt load currently stands at more than $10 billion, even though the company has been selling assets for the past several years. Part of the problem, of course, is that the low price of natural gas slashes the value of Chesapeake’s assets, making it nearly impossible for the company even to swap some debt that might be coming due soon for new debt due further into the future.
The company’s price-to-book ratio is 1.66, and the book value per share is $1.84. Shares traded a bit higher, at around $2.15, down about 31%, shortly after trading restarted. The stock’s 52-week high is $21.29 and the new low posted Monday morning was $1.50.
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