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Prairie Operating Co.

NYSE:PROP
US$0.4058Close 7 Oct 2026 · delayed

Past year: ▼ 80%(40.6c – 2.05 USD)

Market cap
A$64.8m
Shares on issue
113m
In-ground value
A$318m
Risked multiple
4.91×
Story beats
47 since 2002
Last event
10 Aug 2026

History

A recycled shell that moved from oil and gas to comic conventions to crypto mining, became a Colorado oil producer in 2023, and by 2026 was strained by its Series F preferred stock.

2002-2010: A dormant shell becomes a convention company

The record for the earliest years is thin. The company deregistered its securities in 2002, ending its duty to file reports with the SEC. By 2009 it was GoEnergy, and a disclosure that September revealed that its former auditor, Moore & Associates Chartered, had lost its PCAOB registration (the US audit regulator's licence) in August 2009. GoEnergy was not accused of wrongdoing, but the finding raised questions about its earlier audits.

In November 2010 GoEnergy agreed to reverse-merge with Kick the Can Corp., a new producer of pop-culture and comic-book conventions. Kick the Can's owners received 95.5% of the stock, and $200,000 of bridge notes funded the move. The deal closed in December 2010, with Gareb Shamus as CEO and Chairman. The company soon became Wizard World.

2011-2016: Wizard World

The company ran Comic-Con-style events across North America, funded by a string of small raisings. The shell merger took eight rewrites of its report and 21 months to describe to the SEC's satisfaction, finishing in September 2012. In March 2012 director John Macaluso became CEO on pay that started at $10,000 a month, rising to $30,000 with part deferred. In March 2013 Paul Kessler joined the board, beginning the Bristol Capital presence that lasted eleven years.

In August 2013 all Series A Preferred and related warrants were converted into common shares, which removed derivative liabilities and lifted shares outstanding from about 35.8 million at the end of 2012 to about 51.1 million. In November 2015 the company restructured its CONtv streaming venture with Cinedigm, dropping to a capped 10% stake and limiting further funding to $300,000. In July 2016 John Maatta was confirmed as CEO and Randall Malinoff as operating chief.

2016-2020: Insider financing and a quiet stretch

In December 2016 the company sold $2.5 million of convertible debentures and warrants over 33.3 million shares to Bristol Investment Fund, controlled by its own Board Chairman. A month later Kessler became executive chairman, paid through his firm Bristol Capital at $18,750 a month plus options. Share count figures show a large fall by the end of 2018, but the beats do not explain it. The record is otherwise quiet until December 2019, when Barlock 2019 Fund lent $2.5 million on a 12% debenture secured on essentially all assets.

2021-2022: The crypto-mining detour and a dispute

Scott Kaufman was formalised as CEO in March 2021 on a contract allowing salary in preferred stock. He also co-managed Barlock. Renamed first Wizard Brands, then Creek Road Miners, the company pivoted to cryptocurrency mining. It raised $5 million from Leviston Resources, $3.5 million from 14 investors and $6.2 million from 20 investors through new Series C Preferred. It sold its remaining convention rights to Informa for the assumption of liabilities, and its Jevo subsidiary for $1.5 million. In December 2021 petroleum geophysicist Richard Boyce joined the board.

In September 2022 the company settled with Alpha Capital via a $900,000 convertible note and formalised a $500,000 Leviston loan. Barlock then declared a default and demanded $5 million. The company rejected the claim and accused Kaufman of fraud and breach of duty. In October 2022 it agreed to merge with Prairie Operating Co., LLC.

2023-2024: Becoming an oil producer

The merger and the Exok purchase of Weld County, Colorado (DJ Basin) assets closed on 3 May 2023, after the reverse split was dropped. The company raised $17.3 million in a PIPE, converted its preferred stock, and exchanged its debentures for $1 million of amended debentures, shares and Series D preferred. In August 2023 Prairie exercised its option to buy about 32,695 more gross acres, funded by a $20 million private placement. In October 2023, $2.0 million of debentures converted into 11,447,619 shares. The exchange cleared the shares for listing in December.

In January 2024 Prairie agreed to buy Nickel Road assets for $94.5 million and sold its crypto-mining equipment for $1 million cash plus a revenue share, ending that business. The Nickel Road deal was renegotiated in August 2024, with the O'Neill family trust allowed to raise its conversion ceiling from 9.99% to 49.9%. It closed in October for about $55.6 million paid, funded by a $40 million equity line, a $15 million convertible note and a $5 million subordinated note from director Jonathan Gray's entities. Headquarters moved to Houston and the Nasdaq ticker was PROP. Kessler resigned in November 2024, and in December Prairie set up a Citibank credit facility with a $44 million borrowing base.

2025-2026: Bayswater and the Series F strain

In February 2025 Prairie signed to buy Bayswater Resources' DJ Basin assets for $602.75 million. On 26 March it raised about $139 million net by selling 148,250 Series F preferred shares. They carried a 12% dividend rising to 25% six months after the credit facility matured, a 25% claim on future financing proceeds, and warrants due on the first anniversary. The deal closed on 1 April, with the borrowing base expanded from $44 million to $475 million. In June Prairie set up a $75 million at-the-market equity facility.

In 2026 Prairie agreed in March to pay $3 million to delay the warrant issuance, and in April moved the date again. In April it repurchased 13,727 Series F shares from Hudson Bay (High Trail) for about $19.0 million cash plus stock. In June lenders tightened covenants, and High Trail was allowed to convert its remaining stake into up to 21.2 million common shares. On 9 July Nasdaq warned that the stock had traded below $1.00 for 30 days, with until December 2026 to regain compliance. On 10 August 2026 Prairie delayed the warrants a third time, and the trigger date for the previously agreed "Second Penny Warrant" for 3 million shares at $0.01 moved to August 14 as well.

Written from the 47 story beats below (2002 to 10 Aug 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.

Beat by beat

The events that changed the company's story, in plain English, each written against everything known about the company at the time. The dot shows whether it was good, bad or neutral for shareholders.

shares on issue market cap (log scale)

2026113m shares · US$80.7m market cap

  1. 10 Aug

    Prairie and High Trail moved the Series F anniversary warrant issuance date from August 7 to August 14, 2026, the third delay. The trigger date for the previously agreed Second Penny Warrant (3 million shares at $0.01) moved to August 14 as well.

    security holder rights change

    113m shUS$80.7m
  2. 9 July

    Nasdaq notified Prairie that its stock has traded below the $1.00 minimum bid price for 30 straight days, risking delisting; the company has until December 2026 to regain compliance, with automatic delisting if shares ever fall to $0.10 -- confirming the stock's steep decline amid the preferred-stock overhang.

    listing compliance notice

    85.3m shUS$61.6m
  3. 11 June

    Prairie's lenders tightened covenants and reporting requirements on its Citibank credit facility while reaffirming the $475 million borrowing base, and the company let Series F Preferred holder Hudson Bay ("High Trail") convert its remaining stake into up to 21.2 million common shares -- heavy dilution -- while again delaying the anniversary warrant date and cutting its payout formula, signs of an ongoing, worsening negotiation over the distressed preferred stock.

    security holder rights change

    85.3m shUS$76.2m
  4. 9 Apr

    Repurchased 13,727 shares of its Series F Convertible Preferred Stock from Hudson Bay PH XIX LLC ('High Trail') for about $19.0 million cash plus stock for accrued dividends -- a de-risking move to shrink the increasingly troublesome Series F preferred overhang already flagged as an active financial-distress watch item.

    capital raising announcement

    85.3m shUS$173m
  5. 7 Apr

    Prairie amended and restated its Series F agreement again, moving the anniversary warrant issuance date from April 7 to April 9, 2026. The $3 million payment to the buyers was moved to April 9 and could be waived by them.

    material agreement

    85.3m shUS$173m
  6. 25 Mar

    Prairie agreed to delay the anniversary warrant issuance owed to holders of its Series F Preferred Stock (issued alongside the Bayswater deal) by about two weeks, paying $3 million for the extension -- an early sign of strain in managing a large, dilutive preferred-stock obligation.

    material agreement

    76.6m shUS$136m

202542.9m shares · US$166m market cap

  1. 20 June

    Prairie set up a $75 million at-the-market equity sales facility with Citigroup and Truist, giving it a standard, lower-cost tool to raise incremental equity going forward instead of relying on convertible/PIPE structures.

    material agreement

    42.9m shUS$166m
  2. 1 Apr

    Prairie closed the Bayswater acquisition -- $602.75 million headline price, paid as roughly $483.5 million cash (with $15 million held in escrow) plus 3.66 million shares of stock -- by far its largest deal, funded by expanding its Citibank credit facility borrowing base more than tenfold, from $44 million to $475 million.

    asset acquisition disposition

    42.9m shUS$230m
  3. 26 Mar

    Raised about $139.1 million net by selling 148,250 shares of Series F preferred stock, which helped fund the Bayswater acquisition completed the same day. Terms: a 12% dividend rising to 25% six months after the credit facility matures, a right for holders to take 25% of financing proceeds, and warrants due on the first anniversary.

    capital raising announcement

    26.9m shUS$194m
  4. 17 Mar

    Prairie amended its pending purchase agreement to buy Bayswater Resources' DJ Basin assets, extending the deadline and fixing the stock portion of the price at $16 million -- keeping alive what would become its largest acquisition yet.

    material agreement

    26.9m shUS$194m
  5. 7 Feb

    Signed the Bayswater Purchase and Sale Agreement to acquire DJ Basin oil and gas assets from Bayswater Resources and affiliated funds for $602.75 million (cash plus up to 5,249,639 shares) -- Prairie's transformational acquisition, which closed the following month funded by a major expansion of its Citibank credit facility.

    asset acquisition disposition

    23.0m shUS$200m

202422.9m shares · US$195m market cap

  1. 19 Dec

    Prairie established its first real reserve-based bank credit facility, with Citibank as administrative agent: a $1 billion maximum framework with an initial $44 million borrowing base, $28 million drawn at signing -- a more conventional financing tool than the convertible notes and equity lines used to fund the Nickel Road deal.

    debt financing

    22.9m shUS$195m
  2. 21 Nov

    Paul Kessler's eleven-year hold on this registrant ended: on his resignation from the board the 2023 stockholders agreement that had guaranteed board seats to him, Gary Hanna and Edward Kovalik was torn up, and Richard Frommer took his seat. Bristol Capital, an insider presence since 2013 and a lender since 2016, was finally out.

    director officer appointment

    22.9m shUS$191m
  3. 4 Oct

    The Nickel Road acquisition closed (Prairie paid roughly $55.6 million in total across the deposit and closing payments, less than the $94.5 million originally headlined, reflecting deal adjustments), funded by a new $40 million equity line, a $15 million convertible note and a $5 million subordinated note from entities controlled by director Jonathan Gray -- a mix of standard and related-party, dilutive financing to get the deal done. The company also relocated headquarters to Houston and confirmed its Nasdaq listing under ticker PROP.

    asset acquisition disposition

    22.9m shUS$201m
  4. 20 Aug

    Renegotiated the Nickel Road purchase down: up to $11.5 million of spud fees dropped, cash due at closing cut by about $14.5 million to roughly $57 million, and the deadline pushed to September. To free up the funding, Prairie let its largest holder -- the O'Neill family trust -- lift its conversion ceiling from 9.99% to 49.9% of the company, in exchange for a standstill and an agreement that any voting power above 29.9% be cast in the same proportion as everyone else's.

    bylaws amendment

    12.6m shUS$121m
  5. 24 Jan

    Prairie sold off its remaining cryptocurrency mining equipment for $1 million cash plus a revenue-share deferred payment, fully exiting the Bitcoin mining business it had run under its prior Creek Road Miners identity and completing its transition to a pure-play oil and gas producer.

    asset acquisition disposition

    9.8m shUS$93.5m
  6. 12 Jan

    Prairie agreed to buy Nickel Road Development/Nickel Road Operating's DJ Basin oil and gas assets for $94.5 million ($83.0 million cash plus $11.5 million deferred), its second major acreage acquisition since the 2023 merger.

    asset acquisition disposition

    9.8m shUS$93.5m

20237.5m shares · US$121m market cap

  1. 27 Dec

    the exchange certified Prairie Operating Co.'s securities for listing, clearing them to begin trading.

    listing compliance notice

    7.5m shUS$121m
  2. 16 Oct

    As the newly renamed Prairie Operating Co., saw holders convert $2.0 million of its 12% senior secured convertible debentures (issued May 2023) into 11,447,619 shares -- reducing debt from the pre-merger financing package.

    capital raising announcement

    7.1m shUS$2.9m
  3. 17 Aug

    Prairie exercised its option under the Exok deal to buy roughly 32,695 more gross acres of Colorado oil and gas rights, funding it with a $20 million private placement -- expanding its core DJ Basin position soon after the merger closed.

    asset acquisition disposition

    176m shUS$34.5m
  4. 9 May

    On May 3, 2023 the Prairie merger and the $3 million Exok purchase of undeveloped Weld County, Colorado leases closed, and the company was renamed Prairie Operating Co. It also raised $17.3 million in the PIPE, converted its preferred stock, and exchanged its debentures for $1 million of amended debentures, shares and Series D preferred.

    business combination

    12.2m shUS$1.1m
  5. 4 May

    The Prairie merger agreement was amended: the planned reverse stock split was dropped, and the outside termination date was pushed to September 30, 2023, alongside updated terms for the Exok asset deal and the PIPE financing.

    business combination

    12.2m shUS$1.1m

202212.3m shares · US$2.6m market cap

  1. 25 Oct

    Creek Road agreed to merge with Prairie Operating Co., LLC, a Delaware oil and gas company, planning to convert all its preferred stock and debentures into common shares, reverse split, rename itself "Prairie Operating Co.," and raise a $30 million PIPE -- contingent on closing a separate deal to buy Weld County, Colorado (DJ Basin) oil and gas assets from Exok, Inc. This is the transaction that created today's Prairie Operating Co.

    business combination

    12.3m shUS$2.6m
  2. 19 Sept

    Barlock Capital Management -- co-managed by the company's own recently-resigned former Co-CEO, Scott Kaufman -- declared a default on a $2.5 million secured debenture and demanded $5 million, alleging Kaufman's resignation and the Alpha settlement triggered default. The company rejected the claim and accused Kaufman of fraud, self-dealing and breach of fiduciary duty -- an open, contentious governance dispute right before the pending merger.

    debt financing

    12.7m shUS$3.0m
  3. 15 Sept

    Creek Road Miners formalized a $500,000 loan it had already received from Leviston Resources into a convertible note tied to the pending Prairie Operating merger -- bridge financing to get the company to the closing.

    debt financing

    12.7m shUS$3.0m
  4. 7 Sept

    Amid a dispute involving the company's then-CEO, Creek Road Miners settled with investor Alpha Capital Anstalt by exchanging previously exercised warrants for a $900,000 convertible note carrying a punitive 22% default interest rate -- a note structured to convert at a discount once the pending Prairie Operating merger closes.

    debt financing

    12.7m shUS$3.0m
  5. 3 June

    Creek Road Miners signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Highwire Energy Partners to acquire energy assets, including natural gas production in South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming and fixed-price electricity generation in Wyoming. The assets were wanted partly for Bitcoin mining.

    material agreement

    11.4m shUS$6.8m

20216.5m shares · US$16.9m market cap

  1. 23 Dec

    Locked in $250,000-a-year contracts for Paul Kessler and Scott Kaufman and $200,000 each for two more executives, and paid Kessler's Bristol Capital and Kaufman a one-off $250,000 'non-accountable expense reimbursement' apiece. Greg Suess left the board after ten years and was replaced by Richard Boyce, a petroleum geophysicist -- the first oil and gas man on the board of what was still a bitcoin miner, ten months before the Prairie merger was announced.

    director officer appointment

    6.5m shUS$16.9m
  2. 10 Dec

    Creek Road Miners raised $6.2 million from 20 investors by selling 6,200 shares of Series C Preferred Stock with warrants, half struck at $2.50 and half at $2.75 per share. The proceeds were for working capital.

    capital raising announcement

    6.5m shUS$16.9m
  3. 17 Sept

    Creek Road Miners sold its Jevo gelatin-shot-machine subsidiary for $1.5 million to a buyer managed by a director's son-in-law -- a related-party deal approved by the other four board members -- explicitly to fund a full focus on cryptocurrency mining.

    asset acquisition disposition

    3.7m shUS$6.7m
  4. 31 Aug

    As newly renamed Creek Road Miners, Inc., raised $3.5 million from 14 investors (2,333,340 shares plus $1.50-strike warrants) to fund its crypto-mining pivot.

    capital raising announcement

    3.7m shUS$6.7m
  5. 10 Aug

    Creek Road Miners exited the legacy Wizard World live-events business entirely, selling the remaining convention rights (Chicago, Cleveland, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Portland, St. Louis) to Informa Pop Culture Events for nothing but the assumption of associated liabilities -- confirming the business had little remaining value as the company pivoted to crypto mining.

    asset acquisition disposition

    3.6m shUS$8.9m
  6. 2 Apr

    As Wizard Brands, Inc., agreed to sell Leviston Resources LLC $5 million of Series B Preferred Stock and warrants, paid in tranches tied to registration-statement milestones -- capital raised as the company pivoted toward cryptocurrency mining.

    capital raising announcement

    3.5m shUS$15.6m
  7. 3 Mar

    Formalised Scott D. Kaufman as chief executive on a contract backdated to November 2020 that let the company pay his $250,000 salary in preferred stock until it turned a profit. Kaufman also co-managed Barlock, the fund that had lent the company $2.5 million in December 2019 against essentially all its assets -- the conflict that detonated in September 2022 when Barlock declared a default and demanded $5 million.

    director officer appointment

    3.5m shUS$4.7m

201970.1m shares · US$5.0m market cap

  1. 23 Dec

    Raised $2.5 million cash from Barlock 2019 Fund, LP via a 12% secured debenture (due Dec 2021, secured by essentially all company assets) plus a warrant for 6,000,000 shares -- the start of a lender relationship that would later turn contentious ahead of the Prairie merger.

    capital raising announcement

    70.1m shUS$5.0m

201768.5m shares · US$15.6m market cap

  1. 5 Jan

    Made chairman Paul Kessler executive chairman, but paid him through his own firm Bristol Capital at $18,750 a month plus 600,000 options, backdated to September 2016. Coming a month after Bristol Investment Fund bought $2.5 million of the company's convertible debentures, it left Bristol simultaneously lender, consultant, insider and de facto boss.

    director officer appointment

    68.5m shUS$15.6m

201651.4m shares · US$8.1m market cap

  1. 2 Dec

    Sold $2.5 million of convertible debentures plus warrants for a combined 33.3 million shares (at $0.15 and a nominal $0.0001 strike) to Bristol Investment Fund, an entity controlled by the company's own Board Chairman -- a large, insider-favorable related-party financing.

    capital raising announcement

    51.4m shUS$8.1m
  2. 20 July

    Papered two management changes at once: director John D. Maatta's promotion to chief executive, backdated to May 2016, on $250,000 a year and 1.1 million options -- 300,000 of which vest only if the company is sold -- and Randall Malinoff's move from interim to permanent operating chief on $225,000 and 600,000 options.

    director officer appointment

    51.4m shUS$22.2m

201551.4m shares · US$21.6m market cap

  1. 20 Nov

    Wizard World restructured its CONtv streaming joint venture with Cinedigm, stepping back to a capped, non-dilutable 10% stake and limiting its further funding exposure to $300,000 total -- a retreat that curbs downside from a venture that had been costing more than planned.

    joint venture update

    51.4m shUS$21.6m

201336.0m shares · US$25.2m market cap

  1. 26 Aug

    Converted all outstanding Series A Preferred Stock into about 9.5 million common shares and exchanged roughly 8.0 million warrants for about 4.0 million more shares, plus 1.6 million shares to cover accrued dividends -- eliminating derivative liabilities from the balance sheet and closing out the 2011-2012 Series A financing round (about 51.1 million shares then outstanding).

    capital raising announcement

    36.0m shUS$25.2m
  2. 22 Mar

    Paul L. Kessler joined the board alongside Kenneth Shamus, each with 150,000 options at $0.40, and the board finally created audit and compensation committees. Kessler's arrival begins the Bristol Capital presence that would dominate this registrant's financing and governance for the next eleven years, through the crypto pivot and into the Prairie oil and gas era.

    director officer appointment

    35.8m shUS$10.7m

201235.0m shares

  1. 20 Sept

    Wizard World (formerly GoEnergy) filed Amendment No. 8, restating its June 2012 report on the December 2010 reverse merger. The report described issuing 32,927,576 shares, about 94.9% fully diluted, for the convention business, which became a wholly owned subsidiary, and a $775,000 Series A raise.

    business combination

    35.0m sh
  2. 19 Mar

    Director John Macaluso became president and chief executive on a three-year contract, while Michael Mathews stepped back from executive chairman to plain chairman. Macaluso's pay started at $10,000 a month, rose to $30,000 with a third of it deferred unless the company earned $100,000 in adjusted profit, plus warrants over 1,000,000 shares at $0.44 -- terms that say how tight the cash was.

    director officer appointment

    35.0m sh

2010

  1. 14 Dec

    The reverse merger closed: Kick the Can Corp. became a wholly owned subsidiary, Gareb Shamus took over as CEO and Chairman, and the shell (still legally GoEnergy at this point, soon renamed Wizard World) fully adopted KTC's pop-culture convention business -- Comic-Con-style events across North America.

    business combination

  2. 16 Nov

    GoEnergy agreed to reverse-merge with Kick the Can Corp. (KTC), a newly formed producer of pop-culture and comic-book conventions, issuing 95.5% of its stock to KTC's owners and cancelling the prior majority holder's shares -- GoEnergy's pivot away from oil and gas into live entertainment. It also issued $200,000 in bridge notes to fund the transition.

    debt financing

2009

  1. 23 Sept

    GoEnergy's second amendment to its auditor-change disclosure revealed that the outgoing firm, Moore & Associates Chartered, had its PCAOB registration revoked on August 27, 2009 for rule violations and non-cooperation with a Board investigation -- a real red flag about the reliability of the company's own pre-2009 audits, even though GoEnergy itself was not accused of wrongdoing.

    auditor change

2002

  1. 12 Feb

    Prairie Operating Co. deregistered its securities, ending its obligation to file reports with the SEC.

    listing compliance notice