Black Hills Corp. Closes On Sale Of Williston Basin Oil And Gas Assets And Announces Early Retirement Of $225 Million In Debt

abarrelfull wrote on 30 Sep 2012 08:42
Tags: bakken black-hills n-america upstream usa

Latest News

• Want a weekly review of refining news?

• This Week in Refining
• RSS Feed

Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today said that its oil and gas subsidiary, Black Hills Exploration & Production, Inc., closed its previously announced sale of approximately 85 percent of its Bakken and Three Forks shale assets in the Williston Basin for about $243 million, subject to customary postclosing adjustments. The properties were sold effective July 1, 2012.

“As we announced on Aug. 23, the sale of these Williston Basin assets will enable us to strengthen our balance sheet by reducing debt and enhancing our ability to fund planned growth projects,” said David R. Emery, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Black Hills. “This divestiture demonstrates the substantial value of our oil and gas business, which is a testament to the value created by our employees for our shareholders.”

Black Hills Corp. also announced its intent to redeem $225 million of senior unsecured 6.5 percent notes, which mature on May 15, 2013. The company will use the cash proceeds from the sale of its Williston Basin assets to fund the redemption, which is expected on Oct. 31, 2012.

“By redeeming the notes early, we will save about $650,000,” said Anthony Cleberg, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “The redemption will accelerate a one-time interest charge of $0.08 per share into 2012 and reduce 2013 interest expense by $0.09 per share.”

• Black Hills Corp. Closes On Sale Of Williston Basin Oil And Gas Assets And Announces Early Retirement Of $225 Million In Debt

---