OREANDA-NEWS. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today announced the preliminary results of its private offers to exchange (the "Exchange Offers") new 8.00% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2022 (the "Second Lien Notes") for certain outstanding senior unsecured notes listed in the table below (the "Existing Notes"). As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on December 15, 2015 (the "Original Early Tender Date"), approximately $2.8 billion aggregate principal amount of Existing Notes were tendered and not validly withdrawn. The following table sets forth the approximate aggregate principal amounts of each series of Existing Notes that were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or prior to the Original Early Tender Date.

The Company also announced today that it has increased the maximum aggregate principal amount of the Second Lien Notes issuable in the Exchange Offers from $1.5 billion to $3.0 billion (the "New Maximum Exchange Amount"). As a result of this increase, the Company has extended the early tender deadline with respect to the Exchange Offers to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on December 18, 2015 (the "New Early Tender Date"). All withdrawal rights with respect to the Exchange Offers have expired. Other than the New Maximum Exchange Amount and the New Early Tender Date, the terms of Exchange Offers remain unchanged.

The Exchange Offers will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on December 30, 2015 (the "Expiration Date"). The settlement date will occur promptly after the Expiration Date, subject to all conditions to the Exchange Offers having been satisfied or waived by the Company. The Company may elect, in its sole discretion, to settle the Exchange Offers for any or all Existing Notes validly tendered prior to the New Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn before the Original Early Tender Date) at any time after the New Early Tender Date and prior to the Expiration Date, subject to all conditions to the Exchange Offers having been satisfied or waived by the Company. 

Eligible Holders (as defined below) of Existing Notes accepted for exchange in the Exchange Offers will also receive a cash payment equal to the accrued and unpaid interest on such Existing Notes from the applicable latest interest payment date to, but not including, the applicable settlement date. Interest on the Second Lien Notes will accrue from the date of first issuance of Second Lien Notes.

As previously announced, in the event that the Exchange Offers are oversubscribed, the principal amounts of each series of Existing Notes that are accepted will be determined in accordance with the acceptance priority levels of such series. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all Existing Notes that were tendered on or before the New Early Tender Date will have priority over Existing Notes that are tendered for exchange after the New Early Tender Date, even if such Existing Notes tendered after the New Early Tender Date have a higher acceptance priority level than Existing Notes tendered on or before the New Early Tender Date and even if the Company does not elect to have an early settlement date.

To facilitate the increase to the New Maximum Exchange Amount, the Company has amended its senior revolving credit facility maturing in 2019 with its bank syndicate group. The amendment, among other things, permits the Company to incur up to $4.0 billion of debt secured by junior liens on the collateral securing the obligations under the revolving credit facility, with the possibility to exceed $4.0 billion if (i) after giving effect to all debt secured by such junior liens and the uses of such debt in retirement of other indebtedness, the net annual cash interest expense of the Company would increase by no more than $75.0 million, and (ii) the Company has exchanged debt secured by such junior liens for more than $2.0 billion aggregate principal amount of outstanding senior notes with maturities or initial put dates in 2017 through 2019.

The Exchange Offers are conditioned on the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary conditions, as described in the confidential offering memorandum. The Exchange Offers are not conditioned upon any minimum amount of Existing Notes being tendered. The Company may terminate, withdraw, amend or extend any of the Exchange Offers.

About Chesapeake Energy Corporation

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) is the second-largest producer of natural gas and the 12th largest producer of oil and natural gas liquids in the U.S. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company's operations are focused on discovering and developing its large and geographically diverse resource base of unconventional natural gas and oil assets onshore in the U.S. The company also owns marketing and compression businesses.