Chesapeake to Start Generating Cash After Years of Deal Making

Chesapeake Energy Corp., the most active U.S. driller, is poised to start generating cash by cutting interest payments and slowing oil and gas field acquisitions that reached $5 billion last year.

The company announced plans yesterday to sell its holdings in the Fayetteville gas-shale formation in Arkansas, as well as minority stakes in two companies. The sales may yield more than $5 billion in pretax funds, which will be used in part to cut debt, the company said. That may cut costs by $400 million a year, adding to profit, said Michael Bodino of Global Hunter Securities in Fort Worth, Texas.