History
Sundance Energy moved from Australia to Delaware in 2019, then fell into lender defaults and a 2021 Chapter 11 that wiped out old shareholders.
2014-2018: Getting listed on Nasdaq
The record for these years is thin. Nasdaq certified Sundance Energy Inc.'s securities for listing in February and April 2014, and again in August 2016, clearing them to trade. The beats say little else about what the company did in this period. By the end of 2017 the feed shows 1,253,249,528 shares on issue. The 2018 figure is 6,874,622, but the beats do not explain the change, so it is not discussed here.
2019-2020: Moving to Delaware
In November 2019 Sundance moved its parent company from Australia to Delaware. Holders received one share of the new Sundance Energy Inc. for every 100 old Australian ordinary shares, or one per 10 American depositary shares (ADSs). Trading continued on Nasdaq as SNDE. The new company guaranteed the existing bank revolver and second lien term loan, and CEO Eric McCrady and CFO Cathy Anderson stayed on.
In January 2020 the company amended both loans. The revolver's borrowing base (the amount lenders would lend against its assets) rose from $170 million to $210 million, and TD replaced Natixis as agent. The leverage limit was set at 3.5 to 1.0.
Trouble began in April 2020, when Nasdaq warned that the company had not filed its 2019 annual report. Sundance blamed disruption from COVID-19. The stock continued to trade on Nasdaq for the time being.
2020-2021: Defaults and forbearance
In December 2020 Sundance signed a forbearance agreement with its revolver lenders. They agreed not to enforce their remedies over certain defaults until February 7, 2021 at the latest, or earlier if specified events occurred. The letter of credit limit was cut from $25.0 million to $20.0 million. The revolver lenders later waived a missed deadline tied to the second lien lenders. But the company chose not to pay about $7 million of interest due December 31, 2020 on the second lien term loan. That risked a demand for immediate repayment and a cross-default under the revolver.
2021: Chapter 11 and emergence
On March 9, 2021 Sundance and its subsidiaries signed a Restructuring Support Agreement with their lenders and filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 case in the Southern District of Texas. Nasdaq delisted the stock on March 19, and it moved to the Pink Open Market. A junior loan of up to $50 million, with Morgan Stanley Capital Administrators as agent, funded the case. The company drew $10 million at first.
The court confirmed the plan on April 19, and it took effect on April 23, 2021. All old common stock was cancelled with no payment to shareholders. The DIP loan and the second lien term loan were paid off with new stock: 245,513 shares to DIP claim holders and 400,000 shares to term loan claim holders. Revolver lenders received new exit loans and a cash paydown.
As of April 26, 2021, Sundance had a new revolver with $250 million of commitments and an initial borrowing base of $107.5 million, plus a $30 million term loan. Both mature April 23, 2024. The company's focus was the Eagle Ford in Texas. It had filed a Form 15 to deregister and no longer intended to file SEC reports.
Written from the 16 story beats below (2014 to 26 Apr 2021), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.