History
Bois d'Arc Energy listed on the NYSE in 2005, raised money from Comstock in 2006 to expand offshore, then agreed in 2008 to merge into Stone Energy.
2005-2006: Listing and a Comstock investment
Bois d'Arc Energy, a Nevada company based in Houston, had its securities certified for listing by the New York Stock Exchange on April 12, 2005, clearing them to begin trading. The record then goes quiet until August 2006.
On August 25, 2006, the company agreed to sell 2,250,000 new shares to Comstock Resources in a private placement at $15.94 a share, the NYSE closing price that day. Closing was expected on August 31, 2006. The new shares diluted existing shareholders. The money was meant to pay for an additional 20% working interest (a share in the field's costs and output) in the Ship Shoal 113 Unit, bought for $19.2 million. The interest was estimated to carry about 9 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved reserves, meaning gas and oil considered recoverable with reasonable certainty.
2008: Merger with Stone Energy
The record is again quiet until 2008. On April 30, 2008, Bois d'Arc agreed to merge into a subsidiary of Stone Energy Corporation. Each Bois d'Arc share would turn into 0.165 Stone shares plus $13.65 in cash. The deal needed approval from both companies' stockholders and from regulators, and either side might owe the other a $55.0 million termination fee under specified circumstances.
In July, the company set a special stockholder meeting for August 27, 2008, and disclosed a class action filed in Clark County, Nevada, called Packard v. Allison. It named the company, its directors, Comstock, Stone and the merger subsidiary, and sought to block or undo the merger and win damages. The company said it would defend the case vigorously and could not predict the outcome.
On August 27, 2008, stockholders of both companies approved the merger, with closing expected the next day. The filing did not mention the lawsuit, and its outcome is not stated. On August 28, Bois d'Arc ended the registration of a class of its securities, which ended its reporting obligation for them. On September 3, 2008, its exchange filed to remove a class of its securities from listing.
Written from the 7 story beats below (2005 to 3 Sept 2008), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.