Chesapeake & Southwestern Merger to Close Next Week; New Name

It's the end of an era. Chesapeake Energy was founded in 1989 by Aubrey McClendon and Tom L. Ward with an initial investment of $50,000. The flamboyant McClendon, who became the CEO, named the company after the Chesapeake Bay due to his love of the region. He rapidly grew his company, headquarter in Oklahoma City, by doing big, audacious deals to lock up large tracts of acreage for gas drilling. Chesapeake, now helmed by one of McClendon's old friends and lieutenants, Nick Dell'Osso (formerly CFO), announced a deal to buy out and merge with Southwestern Energy earlier this year (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). Yesterday, Dell'Osso announced the final merger, which the Bidenistas had delayed, will close soon, likely next week. The combined company will no longer be called Chesapeake Energy or Southwestern Energy but will be rebranded as (trumpet fanfare)...Expand Energy Corporation.

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