Oil and Gas

Stone emerges from bankruptcy, explores ‘strategic alternatives’

Led by new Chairman Neal Goldman, the board plans to consider all potential avenues to increase stockholder value, including the acquisition of additional assets, accessing external capital, a business combination or another strategic transaction.

Photo by Robin May

Lafayette-based independent oil and gas exploration and production company Stone Energy (NYSE: SGY) confirmed on April 11 that it has retained Petrie Partners LLC to assist its board with determining the company’s strategic direction.

The decision comes on the heels of Stone’s successful completion and emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February and the $527 million sale of its Marcellus and Utica acreage to EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT). Through its reorganization, the company eliminated about $1.1 billion in debt, leaving roughly $236.3 million of outstanding debt, reports Oil and Gas Investor.

“We are committed to increasing stockholder value,” Neal Goldman, the company’s new board chairman, said in the press release. “And, as a newly appointed board of directors, we believe that engaging a financial advisor to help us assess the Company and its strategic alternatives will best enable us to establish an appropriate course.”

The board intends to explore all potential avenues to increase stockholder value, which may include the acquisition of additional assets, accessing external capital, a business combination or another strategic transaction. According to the release, there is no assurance the assessment will result in any transaction.