TPG-Axon’s Continued Investigation Reveals Undeniable Pattern of Conflicted Related-Party Transactions at SandRidge Energy
TPG-Axon, beneficial owner of seven percent of the outstanding shares of
SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) (the “Company”), today announced that
a second presentation detailing the wide scope of SandRidge’s
related-party land transactions can be found by visiting www.Shareholdersforsandridge.com.
In the presentation, TPG-Axon outlines what it believes to be an
undeniable pattern of conflicted related-party transactions of large
proportions with entities related to Tom Ward and his family. TPG-Axon’s
ongoing and exhaustive investigation has identified that WCT Resources,
a company owned and controlled by trusts established by Tom Ward for the
benefit of his children, owns mineral rights adjacent to SandRidge in 22
counties in Oklahoma and Kansas which make up part of the Mississippian
Lime formation, the Company’s primary oil and natural gas play.
Based on a thorough review of the aforementioned 22 counties, TPG-Axon
has found that WCT Resources controls roughly 475,000 acres throughout
the Mississippian. TPG-Axon believes this acreage count makes WCT
Resources the fifth largest exploration and production (E&P) company in
the Mississippian, behind only SandRidge, Chesapeake Energy, Shell and
Devon Energy, and a direct competitor of SandRidge.
TPG-Axon is concerned not only by the scale of WCT Resources’
involvement in the Mississippian, but by the suspicious timing of the
company’s purchases. TPG-Axon has discovered that in many instances, WCT
Resources and SandRidge actively acquire acreage within weeks and months
of each other. Contrary to SandRidge’s claims, based on the data
TPG-Axon has reviewed, this pattern of activity is not rare; it is now
clear that the degree of overlap and competition is truly massive.
TPG-Axon believes the adjacent land WCT Resources acquired could be
worth billions of dollars if SandRidge’s efforts to build infrastructure
and ‘prove out’ acreage in the Mississippian are successful. SandRidge
projects it will spend roughly 80 percent of its entire remaining market
capitalization this year to, among other things, increase the value of
its Mississippian mineral rights, which could make the Ward family one
of the biggest beneficiaries of this spending.
TPG-Axon reiterates its belief that the fact pattern surrounding the
related-party land transactions outlined in its presentations dated
February 19, 2013 and January 23, 2013 suggests SandRidge stockholders
may have been disadvantaged by the actions of entities related to Mr.
Ward or his immediate family members.
TPG-Axon urges stockholders of record as of December 13, 2012 to vote
the GREEN consent card in favor of
its proposals to amend the Company’s bylaws and replace SandRidge’s
entire Board of Directors with its slate of highly qualified director
nominees. TPG-Axon requests that stockholders return their signed and
dated GREEN consent cards promptly,
to ensure that their consent cards are received by SandRidge prior to
March 15, 2013, the deadline for submitting consents.
About TPG-Axon Capital
TPG-Axon Capital is a leading global investment firm. Through offices in
New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo, TPG-Axon invests across global
markets and asset classes.
TPG-AXON MANAGEMENT LP, TPG-AXON PARTNERS GP, L.P., TPG-AXON GP, LLC,
TPG-AXON PARTNERS, LP, TPG-AXON INTERNATIONAL, L.P., TPG-AXON
INTERNATIONAL GP, LLC, DINAKAR SINGH LLC AND DINAKAR SINGH
(COLLECTIVELY, “TPG-AXON”) HAS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION (THE “SEC”) A DEFINITIVE CONSENT STATEMENT AND ACCOMPANYING
CONSENT CARD TO BE USED TO SOLICIT WRITTEN CONSENTS FROM THE
STOCKHOLDERS OF SANDRIDGE ENERGY, INC. IN CONNECTION WITH TPG-AXON'S
INTENT TO TAKE CORPORATE ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT. ALL STOCKHOLDERS OF
SANDRIDGE ENERGY, INC. ARE ADVISED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE CONSENT
STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE SOLICITATION OF WRITTEN
CONSENTS BY TPG-AXON, STEPHEN C. BEASLEY, EDWARD W. MONEYPENNY, FREDRIC
G. REYNOLDS, PETER H. ROTHSCHILD, ALAN J. WEBER AND DAN A. WESTBROOK
(COLLECTIVELY, THE "PARTICIPANTS") FROM THE STOCKHOLDERS OF SANDRIDGE
ENERGY, INC. BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION, INCLUDING
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RELATED TO THE PARTICIPANTS. THE DEFINITIVE
CONSENT STATEMENT AND FORM OF WRITTEN CONSENT HAVE BEEN FURNISHED TO
SOME OR ALL OF THE STOCKHOLDERS OF SANDRIDGE ENERGY, INC. AND ARE, ALONG
WITH OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS, AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB
SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV.
IN ADDITION, TPG-AXON WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE DEFINITIVE CONSENT
STATEMENT AND ACCOMPANYING CONSENT CARD WITHOUT CHARGE UPON REQUEST.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS AND A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR DIRECT OR
INDIRECT INTERESTS BY SECURITY HOLDINGS IS CONTAINED IN THE DEFINITIVE
CONSENT STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 14A FILED BY TPG-AXON WITH THE SEC ON
JANUARY 18, 2013. THIS DOCUMENT CAN BE OBTAINED FREE OF CHARGE FROM THE
SOURCES INDICATED ABOVE.