Past year: ▼ 75%(5.50c – 41.9c USD)
Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
4 Oct 2010material agreement termination▼ Bad
Terminated its $95 million agreement to buy the East Texas Gregg/Rusk county properties announced in July after closing conditions were not met -- one of Linn's rare failed deals in this era of near-continuous dealmaking.
13 Sept 2010debt financing▲ GoodMajor
Sold $1 billion of 7.75% senior notes due 2021, another large bond raise continuing to fund acquisitions and refinance the balance sheet.
22 July 2010material agreement● Neutral
Agreed to acquire East Texas oil and gas properties in Gregg and Rusk counties for $95 million -- this deal would later be terminated in October when closing conditions were not met.
2 July 2010material agreement▲ Good
Agreed to acquire Permian Basin properties for $90 million, to be funded with cash flow and revolver borrowings -- a smaller, self-funded bolt-on compared with the debt- and equity-heavy deals earlier in the year.
9 Apr 2010debt financing● Neutral
Formally issued the $1.3 billion of 8.625% 2020 notes under an indenture with U.S. Bank as trustee -- the mechanical follow-through on the note sale just announced.
31 Mar 2010material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Sold $1.3 billion of 8.625% senior notes due 2020, its largest bond deal yet, funding the ongoing acquisition pipeline.
29 Mar 2010material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Agreed to acquire Permian Basin oil and gas properties for $305 million, citing about 18 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves and about 120 drilling locations. A 10% cash deposit was placed, with the rest to be funded from its revolving credit facility.
24 Mar 2010material agreement▲ Good
Sold 15 million units at $25.00 to help fund the HighMount acquisition.
22 Mar 2010material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Agreed to acquire HighMount's Antrim Shale gas properties in northern Michigan for about $330 million, to be partly funded by a public equity offering -- acquisitions were back in full swing entering 2010.
2 Dec 2009material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Agreed to acquire Permian and Anadarko Basin properties for $154.5 million, its first new acquisition since the 2008-09 downturn, to be funded with revolver borrowings.
7 Oct 2009material agreement▲ Good
Sold another 7.5 million units at $21.90, continuing the pattern of routinely tapping equity markets to fund growth and delever between acquisitions.
18 May 2009material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Sold 5.5 million units at $16.25 to the public, its first follow-on equity offering since the credit crisis hit -- a sign capital markets access had returned.
18 May 2009debt financing▼ BadMajor
Sold $250 million of 11.75% senior notes due 2017, a materially higher coupon than the 9.625% notes sold in mid-2008 -- a sign of how much costlier debt had become for Linn coming out of the 2008-09 credit crunch.
4 May 2009debt financing● Neutral
Drew a modest $20 million on its revolver to cover fees from amending its credit agreement -- routine treasury activity.
8 Dec 2008asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Closed the sale of its deep Woodford Shale rights in central Oklahoma to Devon Energy for $202 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. That was below the $229 million announced in October.
15 Oct 2008material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Agreed to sell its deep Woodford Shale rights under Oklahoma acreage for $229 million while keeping the shallower zones, and separately authorized a unit repurchase program -- pro forma liquidity was expected to top $600 million after the sale.
26 Aug 2008material agreement● Neutral
Reaffirmed its $1.85 billion borrowing base after the Verden disposition closed and amended the credit facility to permit up to $100 million of unit buybacks, though none were planned yet.
3 July 2008asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Closed the roughly $600 million Appalachian Basin sale to XTO Energy, using proceeds to repay the second lien term loan in full and the rest of the credit facility borrowings. Senior VP Thomas Lopus was terminated and given 24 monthly payments of $15,416.67 plus COBRA reimbursement.
30 June 2008debt financing● NeutralMajor
Agreed to sell $255.9 million of 9.875% senior notes due 2018 to initial purchasers in a private placement. Net proceeds of about $241.6 million were used to repay the second lien term loan.
5 June 2008material agreement● NeutralMajor
Agreed to sell its Verden-area Oklahoma properties to Laredo Petroleum for $185 million, a second divestiture alongside the XTO deal as Linn began trimming non-core acreage while debt-funded growth continued elsewhere.
17 Apr 2008material agreement● NeutralMajor
Agreed to sell its entire Appalachian Basin position to XTO Energy for $600 million, its first major divestiture after two years of pure acquisition, with proceeds earmarked to pay down the credit facility.
4 Feb 2008asset acquisition disposition● NeutralMajor
Took on a new $400 million second-lien term loan (at a steep 5-7.5% margin over LIBOR) to help fund the closing of the Lamamco acquisition -- the cost of capital already running higher than the 2006-07 deals.
21 Dec 2007material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Agreed to buy Mid-Continent oil and gas properties from Lamamco Drilling for about $552 million, backed by a new $400 million bridge facility -- another large debt-funded acquisition in the same mold as Dominion.
5 Sept 2007asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Closed the $2.05 billion Dominion Mid-Continent acquisition and a $1.5 billion unit placement. It entered a Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with a $1.8 billion initial borrowing base, and drew $1.15 billion to help fund the purchase.
2 July 2007capital raising announcement▲ GoodMajor
Agreed to buy Mid-Continent oil and gas properties from Dominion Resources for $2.05 billion, far larger than its earlier deals. It was backed by a lender commitment lifting the borrowing base from $765 million to about $1.6-$1.8 billion and a $1.5 billion private unit placement.
4 June 2007capital raising announcement▲ GoodMajor
Closed a $260 million private placement of units to repay revolver debt, its second major equity raise in under a year.
5 Feb 2007asset acquisition disposition▲ Good
Amended its credit agreement to raise the borrowing base from $480 million to $725 million on the closing of the Stallion acquisition, continuing to scale debt capacity in step with the acquisition run.
19 Jan 2007material agreement● Neutral
Unitholders approved a routine amendment capping how many long-term incentive plan units can be issued as restricted units -- administrative, not strategic.
19 Dec 2006capital raising announcement▲ GoodMajor
Announced three more purchase agreements worth $454 million combined: a $415 million private Texas Panhandle producer and $39 million of Appalachian Basin gas properties, continuing the acquisition pace begun that summer.
25 Oct 2006capital raising announcement▲ GoodMajor
Raised $305 million in a private placement of units to institutional investors -- led by Zimmer Lucas Partners, with Goldman, Magnetar and others participating -- to repay acquisition debt, the first of many equity raises that would fund Linn's growth alongside its credit line.
