Chesapeake Energy Jumps on Sale of Assets to BHP

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of U.S. oil and gas company Chesapeake Energy(CHK) are up more than 6% on Tuesday morning after the company announced a sale of its Fayetteville shale assets to mining giant BHP Billiton(BHP) for $4.75 billion in cash.

Chesapeake had announced earlier in February that it planned to sell the Fayetteville assets and raise as much as $5 billion.

>>Chesapeake Energy Putting Its Acreage Where Its Mouth Is

The Chesapeake Energy asset sale plan comes after activist investor Carl Icahn had announced an interest of more than 5% in Chesapeake, setting off speculation that Icahn would pressure Chesapeake to unlock value in its shares by selling assets.

Chesapeake has been one of the most active acquirers of U.S. land acreage, amassing a top-three spot in most U.S. land-drilling plays. The company's debt load and its strategy over the past few years of signing joint ventures to fund its vast operations had led to criticism of CEO Aubrey McClendon. Chesapeake recently announced another joint venture with China's CNOOC(CEO), but it wasn't the kind of deal that its critics were looking for, but rather a continuation of its short-term JV-focused funding strategy.

With or without pressure from Carl Icahn, critics of the company's acquisition strategy and its debt load have been anxious for asset divestitures.

The sale of its 487,000 net acres in the Fayetteville shale is part of Chesapeake's plan to reduce debt to 25% of its the balance sheet -- debt was above 40% at the end of 2010. The deal with BHP Billiton was also turned around quickly -- Chesapeake announced its plan to sell the assets and raise $5 billion during the first week of February.

Chesapeake's new 25/25 strategic plan, announced earlier this year, includes the goal of reducing debt by 25% over the next two years, including a reduction of lease-hold spending and monetizing assets. This would have the effect of reducing the company's growth production target from 30%-40% to 25% also.

Icahn announced his 5% stake in Chesapeake Energy in late December. Year-to-date, Chesapeake shares are up 25%, as the Icahn investment news and more proactive commentary from Chesapeake Energy about its financing have buoyed shares. Chesapeake Energy shares have gained more than twice the increase in peer independent oil & gas companies in 2011.

-- Written by Eric Rosenbaum from New York.

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