Linn Unloads Wyoming’s Washakie Property for $200 Million, Increases Repurchase Program to $400 Million

Houston-based Linn Energy recently announced it has signed an agreement to sell its interest in the company’s Wyoming properties to an undisclosed buyer for $200 million, according to a company press release.

The Board also authorized plans to repurchase $400 million of Linn’s outstanding Class A common stock.

“This latest sale of non-core assets is another step forward in the ongoing transformation of LINN from a highly levered production-based MLP to a low cost, streamlined growth-oriented enterprise,” said Evan Lederman, Linn’s Chairman of the Board. “In addition, the Board believes that the incremental liquidity provided by this sale and others is best utilized to continue to repurchase shares at what we believe is still a significant discount to fair market value.”

The properties to be sold consist of nearly 163,000 net acres in Wyoming’s Washakie Field as Linn continues to market non-core assets. The Washakie Field has produced 66 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day. The company estimates annual cash flow from the field would come in at $35 million.

Since 2017, Linn announced sales agreements totaling more than $1.3 billion including several Wyoming properties. The company has also repurchased more than 4.6 million shares for $157 million at an average price of $34.06 per share.

The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.