Deals
Chesapeake Should Consider Selling, Biggest Shareholder Says
This article is for subscribers only.
Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s biggest investor said the natural-gas supplier, battered by collapsing gas prices and investor distrust, should consider selling itself and spend less time meeting with analysts.
“We urge the board to be open to any offers to acquire the whole company,” Southeastern Asset Management Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer O. Mason Hawkins wrote in a letter to Chesapeake today. While the shares have declined, “we don’t want to use this large price-to-market gap as an excuse to refuse discussions with potential acquirers who would be willing to pay a price today that recognizes the longer term value of the company.”