Antitrust

Thousands of landowners in Oklahoma and Kansas could be compensated if a federal court approves a $6.95 million settlement filed Wednesday to resolve claims that Chesapeake Energy Corp., one of its co-founders and SandRidge Energy Inc. conspired to rig bids and fix prices for oil and gas leases in the Anadarko Basin.

Activist investment firm ValueAct on Tuesday agreed to pay a record $11 million to the U.S. Justice Department to settle allegations that it attempted to influence the Baker Hughes Inc. and Halliburton Co. merger, which has since been canceled.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s (AG) office has pushed back against Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s efforts to have a far-reaching royalties lawsuit be decided by a federal, rather than a state court, arguing it has the right to prosecute antitrust violations and protect the state’s landowners.

Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. said they will fight Justice Department efforts to block their pending $34.6 billion merger, claiming government officials reached the wrong conclusion in assessing the transaction and charged the action is counterproductive in light of the challenges now being experienced by the global energy industry.

An investment firm that took $2.6 billion in stakes in Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. after they had agreed to merge, with the intent to formulate merger strategies with the companies, was sued Monday by the Justice Department.

Prosecutors in Oklahoma are dropping charges against Aubrey McClendon for his alleged role in a bid rigging conspiracy, following his untimely death Wednesday. However, an ongoing federal investigation continues into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the oil and natural gas industry, officials said.

Aubrey McClendon, 56, the former chief and co-founder of Chesapeake Energy Corp., was killed Wednesday in a single-car crash, authorities said.

European regulators have launched the second phase of an antitrust investigation concerning the mega-merger of Halliburton Ltd. and Baker Hughes Inc.

A San Francisco-based activist hedge fund, which holds considerable stakes in Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc., told investors that it expects the mega-merger to be finalized because the partners are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve antitrust compliance.