History
Comstock survived the gas-price crash by swapping debt for equity in 2016, then passed to Jones family control in 2018 and grew through the Covey Park merger.
2015-2016: Refinancing and restructuring
The record opens in March 2015, when Comstock refinanced. It sold $700 million of 10% senior secured notes due 2020, alongside a new $50 million revolving credit facility, and used the money to retire its existing bank facility. In October 2015 the New York Stock Exchange certified its securities for listing.
The gas-price downturn soon put the company under strain. In February 2016 it began swapping debt for shares, exchanging $40.0 million of 7¾% notes due 2019 for 4.6 million shares, plus cash for accrued interest, with holder Oasis Management. In late March the NYSE warned that the stock price, market value and stockholders' equity were all below continued-listing standards, and Comstock had to submit a compliance plan. Four more note-for-stock swaps followed between 13 April and 3 May: about $22.4 million of 7¾% 2019 notes and $2.5 million of 9½% 2020 notes were exchanged for roughly 4.5 million and 0.5 million shares, plus shares for accrued interest on the 2020 notes.
By August the company said its 2017 cash flow would not cover its debt payments after it idled its drilling rigs. It proposed a larger exchange offer, in which unsecured noteholders would swap par for par into new second-lien PIK convertible notes worth up to about 73.5% of the pro forma stock, with a 95% minimum participation and closing by 15 September, to fund a restart of drilling. The terms were then improved and the offer enlarged, with more senior secured toggle notes and extra warrants. A one-for-five reverse split took effect on 29 July 2016. The NYSE said on 2 September that the company had regained compliance with the minimum stock-price standard. The exchange was completed on 6 September. Noteholders received new 10% senior secured toggle notes with penny warrants and new convertible secured PIK notes, which can convert into stock only after stockholder approval and a charter amendment. No cash was raised. The deal heavily diluted existing shareholders but avoided bankruptcy.
2017-2018: The Jones family takes control
The record for 2017 is quiet. In April 2018 Comstock agreed to sell 10 million shares to Arkoma Drilling, controlled by Jerry Jones, at $7.50 a share, and formed a drilling venture under which Arkoma could fund Haynesville and Eagle Ford wells for a working interest. At the start of May this $75 million stock sale was scrapped in favour of a bigger deal.
On 10 May Comstock agreed to acquire North Dakota Bakken Shale assets valued at $620 million from Arkoma and Williston Drilling in exchange for up to 88.6 million new shares. The assets came with no debt. Closing needed shareholder approval, antitrust clearance and new financing, with an outside date of 31 October 2018.
In July the company launched a tender offer for its outstanding notes and planned an $850 million new notes offering. An escrow subsidiary issued $850 million of 9.75% senior notes due 2026 in August. The recapitalization closed on 15 August 2018. The Jones partnerships contributed Bakken assets (North Dakota and Montana) for 88.57 million shares, taking about 84.5% of the company and five board seats. The escrowed notes were released, a new $700 million credit facility replaced the old one, and all prior notes were redeemed. The share count rose from about 15.4 million at the end of 2017 to 105.9 million a year later.
2019-2020: Covey Park and the COVID shock
In June 2019 Comstock agreed to merge with Covey Park Energy, a Haynesville shale gas producer, for $700 million in cash plus stock. The Jones family separately invested $475 million more to help fund it. The merger closed on 18 July 2019. Comstock assumed Covey Park's $625 million of notes and put in place a new $1.5 billion credit facility, roughly doubling its Haynesville footprint and making it one of the largest Haynesville gas producers. Shares on issue rose to about 190 million by the end of 2019.
When oil and gas prices collapsed in the COVID-19 crash, the company raised about $190 million in May 2020 by selling 40 million new shares at $5.00. In June it priced an upsized $500 million add-on to its 9.75% notes due 2026 at 90 cents on the dollar, using the proceeds to pay down its bank credit line. The add-on closed on 24 June.
2021-2026: Cheaper debt and continued family backing
With the crisis passed, Comstock refinanced. In February 2021 it priced $1.25 billion of 6.75% notes due 2029, closed in March, and widened a tender offer to retire up to $1.0 billion of its older, costlier 2025 and 2026 notes. In June it issued a further $965 million of 5.875% notes due 2030, pushing out maturities and cutting interest costs.
In November 2022 Comstock replaced Bank of Montreal with Wells Fargo as lead bank in a new $3.5 billion senior secured credit facility. It carried a $2.0 billion borrowing base and $1.5 billion of lender commitments, and matures in 2027.
In March 2024 Arkoma and Williston Drilling bought another 12.5 million shares directly from the company for about $100.5 million, continuing their direct backing since 2018. In May 2025 the exchange again certified Comstock's securities for listing. As of that latest entry, the Jones family remained the controlling shareholder.
Written from the 32 story beats below (2015 to 2 May 2025), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.