CHK Chesapeake Energy Corporation

By Josh Beckerman 

Activist investor Carl Icahn has exited more than half of his stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp., citing tax-planning reasons.

Mr. Icahn reported a 4.55% stake in the energy company, compared with 9.4% in August.

In a statement, Mr. Icahn said "we believe that over the past few years Doug Lawler and his team have done an admirable job, especially in light of the circumstances. We reduced our position to recognize a capital loss for tax-planning purposes."

Chesapeake shares fell 4.4% to $6.51 in after-hours trading.

In May 2012, Mr. Icahn disclosed a new stake in the Oklahoma City company and said it suffered from "poor governance and unchecked risk taking." Referring to his discussions with management that followed a 2010 stock purchase, Mr. Icahn said the "promises made in 2010 proved hollow."

Chesapeake said on May 1, 2012, that co-founder Aubrey McClendon would step down as chairman. The next month, the company agreed to give a board seat to a representative of Mr. Icahn and three more to people chosen by Southeastern Asset Management Inc.

Mr. McClendon, a pioneer in shale-energy development, resigned as chief executive in 2013, citing "philosophical differences" with the board. Mr. Lawler, a former Anadarko Petroleum Corp. executive, became CEO.

Mr. McClendon died in a car crash in March, a day after he was indicted on a charge of conspiring to rig bids on oil and gas leases.

In August, Chesapeake said it would exit the Barnett Shale in Texas, a plan intended to improve its finances by moving out of an asset that Mr. Lawler called "a very significant cash-flow drain."

Mr. Icahn said in a filing that he now has 35.3 million shares, down from 73 million in August.

--David Benoit contributed to this article.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 19, 2016 18:34 ET (22:34 GMT)

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