OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Chesapeake Energy Corp. said Monday that it has completed its $2 billion sale of its pipeline assets.
Last month, the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer said it would sell its ownership stake in its Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP pipeline company to Global Infrastructure Partners for about $2 billion.
The company also is in the process of negotiating the sale of certain assets to Chesapeake Midstream Partners and the sale of its interests in its Chesapeake Midstream Development LP subsidiary to Global Infrastructure Partners.
Including the sale that closed Monday, the deals are worth more than $4 billion.
With Monday's closing, Global Infrastructure Partners owns all of the partnership's general partner interest and 69 percent of its limited partner units, Chesapeake said.
Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake has been plagued by a large debt load and plunging natural gas prices.
Chesapeake said the sales will allow it to cut its capital spending by about $3 billion over three years.
The company recently named a new chairman to replace its founder, Aubrey McClendon. McClendon remains CEO and president but was stripped of his chairmanship after a series of corporate governance issues angered investors. The issues included a report that McClendon took a personal loan from a company that was doing business with Chesapeake.
Last month, Chesapeake appointed Archie Dunham, a former ConocoPhillips chairman, as an independent non-executive chairman. Dunham, 73, has no prior relationship with Chesapeake.
Chesapeake shares rose 10 cents to $18.70 in morning trading Monday. Its shares are down about 17 percent since the start of the year.
