History
Unit Corp took on bank and note debt, sold half of its pipeline business, and went through Chapter 11 in 2020 before emerging and announcing its first dividend in 2023.
2007-2011: Budgets, banks and a big shareholder
In January 2007 Unit set out ambitious plans. Its oil and gas arm, Unit Petroleum, budgeted $326 million excluding acquisitions, with 270 wells planned. Its drilling arm, Unit Drilling, had ended 2006 with a record 117 rigs and budgeted $131 million, while Superior Pipeline, its pipeline business, budgeted $25 million. In 2006, 214 of 244 completed wells found oil or gas.
In May 2007 Unit replaced its 2004 credit agreement with a new five-year facility led by Bank of Oklahoma, with an initial borrowing base (the amount lenders allow it to borrow, set by the value of its reserves) of $425 million. In March 2009 it reached a standstill agreement with the George Kaiser Family Foundation, which agreed not to seek control or board seats or exceed 25% of the shares.
In May 2011 Unit sold $250 million of 6 5/8% senior subordinated notes due 2021 to repay about $185.0 million of credit facility borrowings. In September 2011 it signed a new five-year credit agreement with an initial borrowing base of $537.5 million.
2012-2017: The Noble purchase and tighter lending
In July 2012 Unit Petroleum agreed to buy oil and gas properties in western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle from Noble Energy for $617.1 million in cash. To fund it, Unit sold $400 million more of the same 6 5/8% notes, raising about $386.7 million, and in September 2012 it enlarged its credit agreement, with the borrowing base rising to $800 million once the purchase closed.
The record then goes quiet on operations, and what follows is a story of lenders tightening. In April 2015 the borrowing base was cut from $900 million to $725 million, though the facility was extended to April 2020. In April 2016 it fell to $475 million, a cap on senior debt relative to earnings was added, and Unit pledged 85% of the value of its proved developed producing properties and all of its Superior Pipeline ownership as collateral. Over these years the share count crept up from about 48 million at the end of 2011 to about 52.9 million at the end of 2017.
2018-2019: Selling half of Superior and a note exchange offer
In March 2018 Unit agreed to sell 50% of Superior Pipeline to SP Investor Holdings, owned by OPTrust and Partners Group funds, for about $300 million in cash. The sale closed on April 3, 2018. The money paid down bank debt, and the credit commitment and borrowing base were cut to $425 million, with Superior released from the agreement.
In August 2018 Unit said its first-quarter 2018 statements had to be restated because of cash-flow classification errors of about $45 million, and it identified a material weakness in its financial reporting controls. Revenue, net income and cash were unaffected. In October 2018 the credit agreement was extended to October 2023.
In November 2019 Unit offered holders of its $650 million of 6.625% notes a swap into new secured notes, some at a discount to face value, conditional on amending or replacing the bank credit agreement. In December 2019 the NYSE warned that the stock had traded below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days, giving Unit six months to recover.
2020-2023: Chapter 11 and a fresh start
In March 2020 the lenders agreed to a standstill, holding off on remedies until April 15 in return for tight cash controls. In April Unit replaced PricewaterhouseCoopers with Grant Thornton, with PwC's 2019 report including a going-concern paragraph. On May 22, 2020 Unit and five subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 in Houston under an agreement with all its bank lenders and holders of over 70% of the notes. Superior Pipeline was not part of the filing. The NYSE suspended the stock and the shares moved to OTC Pink.
A $36.0 million loan to fund the case was approved in full on June 19, and the court confirmed the plan on August 6. The old shares were cancelled, noteholders and unsecured creditors received new shares, and old shareholders who did not opt out of releases received warrants over about 1.8 million new shares, exercisable only after all general unsecured claims are resolved. Unit emerged on September 3, 2020 with a new exit credit agreement: a $140 million revolver and a $40 million term loan, maturing March 1, 2024, with $92 million and $40 million drawn. It filed to deregister the old stock on September 4. The feed shows 12 million shares at the end of 2020, then about 9.6 million by the end of 2022; the beats do not explain that change.
On January 5, 2023 Unit announced its first dividend in the record: a special $10.00 per share payable January 31, plus a quarterly policy starting with $2.50 per share in the second quarter, at the board's discretion. That is where the record stood as of that date.
Written from the 29 story beats below (2007 to 5 Jan 2023), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.