Former Chesapeake CEO McClendon charged with bid-rigging of land leases
Source: Reuters
Deals | Tue Mar 1, 2016 8:20pm EST
Former Chesapeake CEO McClendon charged with bid-rigging of land leases
ATLANTA/WASHINGTON | BY BRIAN GROW AND DIANE BARTZ
Aubrey McClendon, former chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N), was charged on Tuesday with conspiring to rig bids to buy oil and natural gas leases in Oklahoma, the Justice Department said.
The indictment follows a nearly four-year federal antitrust probe into land-leasing during a shale-drilling boom. The probe began after a 2012 Reuters investigation found that Chesapeake had discussed with a rival how to suppress land lease prices in Michigan. The story sparked a federal antitrust investigation in that state, which was closed but led to evidence of alleged bid-rigging in Oklahoma. (reut.rs/1TPxUVy)
The Justice Department indictment paves the way for what may be one of the highest-profile criminal antitrust cases against a well-known U.S. CEO in decades, and could thrust McClendon, a controversial figure whose aggressive leasing tactics are legendary in the energy industry, into the highest-stakes legal battle of a decades-long career.
Oklahoma-based McClendon is a shale drilling evangelist who was once among the highest paid U.S. CEOs. He co-founded Chesapeake with fellow Oklahoma oilman Tom Ward in 1989. In 2013, McClendon stepped down from the helm of Chesapeake amid a liquidity crunch and corporate governance concerns. Ward left Chesapeake in 2006 and founded competitor SandRidge Energy Inc (SDOC.PK) the same year.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-mcclendon-idUSKCN0W35Y7
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