KKR’s Samson Resources to file for bankruptcy

OREANDA-NEWS. August 17, 2015. Private-equity backed exploration company Samson Resources will file for bankruptcy following the plunge in crude oil and natural gas prices.

Samson will enter into a restructuring agreement that allows it to miss a 17 August loan interest payment and prepare for a Chapter 11 filing, according to KKR, the private equity firm that backed Samson.

"Given the industry downturn and impact of the volatile commodity environment, this is the right next step for Samson," KKR said.

The planned restructuring would significantly cut Samson's overall debt and bring at least \\$450mn of new capital into the business, Samson Resources said.

In November 2011 KKR acquired Samson Investment, one of the largest closely held US upstream independents, for \\$7.2bn, gaining unconventional oil assets from the Bakken shale of North Dakota to the Granite Wash formation of Texas and Oklahoma.

The purchase included all of the company's assets except those on the US Gulf coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. KKR's partners in the deal were Japanese trading firm Itochu and US private equity firms Natural Gas Partners and Crestview Partners.

Itochu in April warned it will post a loss of about \\$320mn loss on its investment in Samson Resources in the fiscal year 2014-15 that ended on 31 March.