Chesapeake Accused of Favoring CEO McClendon Over Leaseholders
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Chesapeake Energy Corp. let Aubrey McClendon, its chief executive officer, profit from lucrative Texas oil and gas wells while denying the same chance to leaseholders on the properties, according to a lawsuit.
Chesapeake lost one-fifth of its market value this year as the impact of tumbling gas prices was compounded by disclosure that McClendon borrowed more than $800 million last year to finance his stakes in thousands of company-owned oil and gas wells. McClendon was stripped of his chairman’s role in June and is under investigation by the board for his borrowings.