Why did the sell the Mississippian assets? In today's public company environment, shareholders fund outsided CEO and executive management compensation packages while their equity value is being destroyed. CEOs are way over paid relative to value creation.
The strategic review once included an outright sale of the company. Once that came off the table a few releases/updates ago, I began to wonder about motives of the directors and management and re-arranging the deck furniture as opposed to bringing this thing to a conclusion. Why the heck did they sell the quality Mississippian assets they were developing with Atlas if they were going to remain an E&P company? They could have sold the Canadian assets and greatly reduced their debt and focused as a US operator developing the Mississippian assets as well as the Hunton. Their balance sheet would have been just as robust. What shareholder value has been generated though this whole process? The volatility has been crazy holding this stock through this but now is not the time to liquidate a position. There is plenty of value in the share price.
I hope to heck that they are not going to maintain a Canadian office in Calgary?
Granted the timing is not very good right now for a NATGAS and NGLs E&P, but even if they got $180 million of the remaining Hunton assets it would be ~$158 million net of debt. That is at least $4.50 per share and bring finality to this whole thing. I know not all shareholders would be in the money but unfortunately this happens in divestures and we would be getting a heck of a lot more than today's price.
Now shareholders have to wonder how low it will go and the company will evidentally be operating at a deficit and becomes speculative to the commodity pricing environment. It is neither fish or fowl based on the announcement today. Who the heck were the experts advising them???
I for one have tried to be patient but the self-serving motives of the BOD seems to be shining through. I stand to be corrected but I as a shareholder am frustrated.