Deals
Chesapeake CEO Disavowed Role in 2008 Plunge as He Sold Shares
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Chesapeake Energy Corp. Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon disavowed any role in the plunge in the company’s stock price in October 2008 after he had sold more than 31 million shares to meet margin calls.
McClendon e-mailed employees on Oct. 10, 2008, urging them “just to ignore” the decline in Chesapeake’s shares, which he attributed to fallout from the global financial collapse triggered by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy 26 days earlier. Eighteen minutes before sending the message, the company issued a statement through Business Wire that the CEO involuntarily sold “substantially all” of his Chesapeake shares over the previous three days to satisfy margin calls.