Mason Hawkins Comments on Chesapeake

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Feb 11, 2015

Chesapeake (CHK) declined 21% for the full year and 14% in the fourth quarter. Since Chesapeake’s heavily vested Board took over in mid-2012, the company has delivered the balance sheet and improved production from its irreplaceable 12 +million net acres of oil and gas fields. CEO Doug Lawler is driving value recognition in ways he can control – selling assets at reasonable prices, reducing debt, and increasing operating efficiencies in both corporate and production activity. In the first half of the year, Chesapeake sold non-core acreage in Oklahoma, Texas, and Pennsylvania and spun-off its oilfield services business into Seventy-Seven Energy, which we sold. In the fourth quarter, Chesapeake closed the sale of Marcellus and Utica assets to Southwestern Energy for $5 billion. This amounted to roughly 8% of Chesapeake’s production for nearly half its market cap. Management announced plans to use $1 billion of the proceeds to repurchase the heavily discounted shares.

From Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio)’ Longleaf Partners Fund Q4 2014 Management Discussion.