12 Oct 2016director officer appointment▲ Good
Howard Thill was appointed chief financial officer, ending the interim co-CFO arrangement that had run since March.
Announcements, explained
Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
7 Oct 2016material agreement● NeutralMajor
Sanchez agreed to sell its 50% of Carnero Processing to Sanchez Production Partners for about $47.7 million plus about $32.3 million of assumed capital commitments. Closing was expected in October 2016, alongside a separate $27 million sale of producing wells.
23 Aug 2016dividend declaration▼ Bad
The second quarterly preferred dividend of the year, again paid in shares rather than cash.
3 Aug 2016director officer appointment● Neutral
Robert V. Nelson III joined the board.
6 July 2016material agreement● Neutral
Sanchez sold its Carnero gathering business to the affiliated partnership for about $37 million plus the assumption of $7.4 million of remaining commitments - another midstream asset monetised within the family group.
23 May 2016dividend declaration▼ Bad
Sanchez declared its quarterly preferred dividends but elected to pay them entirely in common stock rather than cash. Preserving cash at the cost of diluting the common holders - a choice it would repeat every quarter that year.
21 Mar 2016material agreement▼ BadMajor
The seventh amendment required account control agreements over all of Sanchez's deposit accounts and raised loan margins by 0.50%. It also required unrestricted cash above $35 million to be used for prepayment if a borrowing base deficiency arose.
8 Mar 2016director officer appointment▼ Bad
Garrick Hill was made interim co-chief financial officer - a shared, temporary finance role at the low point of the price cycle.
25 Jan 2016material agreement▼ BadMajor
Sanchez amended its credit facility to allow up to $400 million of second lien debt. The borrowing base fell from $500 million to $425 million, but the elected commitment stayed at $300 million and nothing was drawn.
16 Dec 2015material agreement● Neutral
Gregory Kopel joined as general counsel, an appointment a company makes when it expects to need one.
4 Nov 2015material agreement● Neutral
A fifth credit amendment updated the loan documents for the disposal of Catarina Midstream.
20 Oct 2015asset acquisition disposition● NeutralMajor
Sanchez closed the sale of its Western Catarina midstream assets to Sanchez Production Partners for about $345.8 million in cash. It signed a 15-year gathering agreement with minimum volume commitments and per-unit fees, so it still pays to use the system.
6 Oct 2015director officer appointment● Neutral
Eduardo Sanchez was appointed president, adding another family member to the executive line alongside chief executive Antonio Sanchez III and board member A. R. Sanchez, Jr.
5 Oct 2015material agreement● Neutral
A fourth credit amendment tidied up the documentation around the midstream joint venture and raised the letter of credit limit ahead of the Catarina Midstream sale.
29 Sept 2015material agreement● NeutralMajor
Sanchez agreed to sell its Catarina gathering system to affiliate Sanchez Production Partners for $345.8 million - by far the largest of the related-party sales, and enough cash to matter against the debt taken on in 2014.
12 Aug 2015listing compliance notice▲ GoodMajor
the New York Stock Exchange certified Sanchez Energy Corp's securities for listing, clearing them to begin trading.
29 July 2015bylaws amendment▼ BadMajor
Sanchez adopted a shareholder rights plan to stop anyone accumulating enough stock to jeopardise its tax loss carryforwards. Companies only protect loss carryforwards when they have large ones, and only fear accumulation when the shares are cheap - both were now true.
24 July 2015material agreement● Neutral
The banks allowed Sanchez to invest up to $80 million in an unrestricted midstream subsidiary and joint venture - building gathering infrastructure it could later sell to the affiliated partnership, which is exactly what happened.
23 June 2015auditor change● Neutral
Sanchez replaced BDO with KPMG as auditor, moving to a Big Four firm as the accounting around its affiliate transactions and impairments grew more consequential.
8 May 2015director officer appointment● Neutral
Thomas Brian Carney joined the board.
6 Apr 2015asset acquisition disposition● NeutralMajor
The wellbore sale to the affiliated partnership closed for $81.6 million cash plus units in the buyer - real money in the door, from a counterparty Sanchez's own managers also run.
1 Apr 2015material agreement▼ BadMajor
With prices down and cash needed, Sanchez began selling assets to its own affiliate: partial working interests in 59 Palmetto wellbores went to Sanchez Production Partners, an entity in the same family group, on terms where the buyer's share escalates every year. A related-party sale is the easiest kind to complete, and the hardest for an outside shareholder to judge.
13 Jan 2015business combination● Neutral
Sanchez filed a registration statement offering to swap up to $1.15 billion of its 6.125% senior notes due 2023 (issued June and September 2014) for identical SEC-registered notes. The terms are unchanged and the exchange is not a taxable event; this registers debt already issued, apparently to fund the Catarina purchase (inference from timing), and adds no new borrowing.
6 Nov 2014director officer appointment● Neutral
Sean Maher joined the board as oil prices were beginning to fall sharply.
15 Sept 2014debt financing▼ BadMajor
A further $300 million was added to the 6.125% notes at a premium, taking that bond to $1.15 billion. This is the last financing Sanchez completed before oil prices collapsed.
2 July 2014asset acquisition disposition● NeutralMajor
Sanchez closed its $850 million 6.125% senior notes due 2023 on June 27 and completed the Catarina acquisition on June 30, with total consideration of about $553.5 million after adjustments to the $639 million price. It also signed a $1.5 billion credit facility with $425 million elected and nothing drawn.
16 June 2014material agreement● NeutralMajor
Sanchez sold 5 million shares at $35.25, raising about $167.5 million net to help fund the Catarina acquisition. Sanchez Oil & Gas, TAEP Security Trust and A.R. Sanchez, Jr. granted underwriters an option on up to 750,000 more shares, with no proceeds going to the company.
11 June 2014material agreement● Neutral
Sanchez published the financial groundwork for the Catarina purchase - audited revenues for the Shell assets, a Ryder Scott reserve report and pro formas combining Cotulla, Wycross and Catarina - and amended its credit agreement for the sixth time. This is the paperwork a company files immediately before raising the money.
11 June 2014business combination● Neutral
Sanchez filed a registration statement offering to swap its existing $600 million of 7.75% senior notes due 2021 (issued June and September 2013) for identical notes registered with the SEC and freely tradable. The terms do not change and, per the text, no new money is raised, so this is a paperwork step for the notes already in the company's debt, filed the same day as the Catarina-related documents.
30 May 2014capital raising announcement● Neutral
A third round of preferred-for-common exchanges across both series, on the same pattern: dividends waived, common shares issued.