Shareholders in Chesapeake Energy and WildHorse Resource Development are getting letters this week notifying them of the planned $4 billion merger by the two energy firms and the meeting to decide it. Proxy statements are part of the letters.
Chesapeake Energy shareholders will meet Jan. 31, 2019 at 10 a-.m. to consider and vote upon the proposal to acquire and merge with the Houston-based WildHorse company.
They’re being asked to approve the merger which includes increasing the six of Chesapeake’s board of directors from ten directors to eleven. The proposal also includes a plan to amend Chesapeake’s charter to increase the numbr of authorized shares of common stock from 2,000,000,000 to 3,000,000,000.
Shareholders in WildHorse will meet the same day but at 2 p.m.
The proxy notice was sent out by Robert Lawler, President and CEO at Chesapeake Energy and Jay C. Graham, Chief Executive Officer at WildHorse resource Development Corporation.
Information included in the nearly 200 page notice filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed Chesapeake was taking on WildHorse, a company with $1.10 billion in outstanding debt. At the same time, Chesapeake Energy’s debt, as of Nov. 28, 2018 was $8.1 billion.
The notice also indicated that if Chesapeake does not repay, repurchase, redeem, exchange or otherwise terminate any of its or WildHorse’s existing indebtedness immediately following the completion of the merger, Chesapeake will have outstanding debts of $9.2 billion.