Chesapeake says swapped debt for 4 pct of equity over past week
May 12 (Reuters) - Debt-laden Chesapeake Energy Corp , the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer, said on Thursday it had issued or agreed to issue about 4 percent of its outstanding shares in exchange for debt over the past week.
A number of U.S. oil producers have completed debt-for-equity swaps or bond swaps as they try to reduce their debt and interest payments as oil prices remain weak.
Chesapeake Energy said in a regulatory filing that it had issued or agreed to issue about 28.1 million shares between May 5 and May 11 in exchange for senior notes worth about $153 million. The senior Notes are due in 2017, 2019, 2037 and 2038.
(Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)
