EXCO Resources Heading for Bankruptcy, Turnaround Expert Resigns

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In the end, not even turnaround expert John Wilder could turn around EXCO Resources. Wilder is the guy now Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross brought in two years ago to turn around the ailing company. At first it seemed like it might be working (see EXCO Resources Turnaround is Working, but Comes at a High Cost). EXCO Resources was once a sizable player in the Marcellus. They still have 184,000 net acres in the Marcellus, with 124 horizontal Marcellus wells drilled and in production. However the company, as we pointed out in March 2016, has abandoned the Marcellus/Utica at this point (see EXCO: No Marcellus Drilling in 2015/2016, NYSE Threatens Delisting). The company flirted with bankruptcy for some time, but in the end they effectively turned over control of the company to its creditors this past summer (see EXCO Issues 2.7M Shares of New Stock in Lieu of Paying $23M). However, the company has continued to struggle financially. Yesterday EXCO announced Wilder has resigned from his position as a member of EXCO’s Board of Directors and from his position as Executive Chairman of the Board, effectively immediately. Translation: He’s given up on trying to save the company. In the same announcement, EXCO said Wilder’s departure “was not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.” In EXCO’s third quarter 2017 update, released on Tuesday, there is a section in which management says if they can’t make the interest payments on the company’s debt, “the Company may be forced to seek protection from creditors under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.” They go on to say debt payments and other factors, “raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” Ominous language. Here’s the announcement about John Wilder and company statements about possibly seeking bankruptcy protection…

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