History
Cabot Oil & Gas financed itself with notes and a 2016 share sale, merged with Cimarex in 2021 to become Coterra, then was absorbed by Devon in May 2026.
2014-2017: Borrowing to stay funded
The record begins in 2014, when the company, then named Cabot Oil & Gas, sold $925 million of unsecured notes to institutional buyers in three series: $100 million at 3.24% due 2021, $575 million at 3.67% due 2024 and $250 million at 3.77% due 2026. The notes carried covenants, including a minimum asset coverage ratio of 1.75 to 1.0. The filing did not say what the money was for.
In April 2015 the company amended its bank credit agreement, extending maturity from May 2017 to April 2020 and raising the borrowing base (the cap on what lenders will lend against its reserves) from $3.1 billion to $3.4 billion. Commitments rose from $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion.
In February 2016 it amended the bank agreement and all its note agreements. The minimum asset coverage ratio was reduced for two years and a maximum leverage ratio was added, and the notes' interest rate could rise by up to 125 basis points depending on those ratios. The company said it met all covenants at the end of 2015. It also agreed to sell 44,000,000 new shares, with an option for up to 6,600,000 more, to fund general purposes including repaying revolving credit debt. Shares on issue rose from about 413.9 million at the end of 2015 to about 465.1 million at the end of 2016.
2017-2020: Selling Eagle Ford to focus on the Marcellus
In December 2017 the company agreed to sell all its Eagle Ford Shale assets in Texas to VOG Palo Verde LP for $765.0 million in cash. Those assets had produced 15,656 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter of 2017. It expected a non-cash impairment (a write-down of the assets' book value) of about $270 to $280 million after tax. A separate sale of remaining East Texas assets was also announced. The company said the proceeds would support its Marcellus Shale focus, dividends, buybacks and its balance sheet.
The sale closed on February 28, 2018, with the company receiving $673.6 million after price adjustments. Some assets could not be transferred at closing; about $52.8 million more was expected by the end of the first quarter of 2018, and the last $5.8 million of properties awaited consents.
In October 2018 the company reported third-quarter net income of $122.3 million, against $17.6 million a year earlier. It returned $188.5 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, announced a 17 percent dividend increase and cut debt by $237.0 million. Shares on issue fell from about 462.5 million at the end of 2017 to about 398.6 million by the end of 2020. The record for 2019 and 2020 is otherwise quiet.
2021: The Cimarex merger
On May 23, 2021 Cabot agreed to buy Cimarex Energy Co. in an all-stock merger of equals, with each Cimarex share becoming 4.0146 Cabot shares. A registration statement filed in June covered up to 414,921,039 Cabot shares, and Cabot holders were asked to approve raising authorized shares from 960,000,000 to 1,800,000,000.
In September Cabot offered to swap Cimarex's notes for new Cabot notes and signed a credit agreement amendment that removed the borrowing-base limit in favour of a maximum debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.0 to 1.0, leaving $1.5 billion of commitments available. Two shareholder lawsuits sought to block the merger over alleged missing disclosures; Cabot called them without merit and added disclosures to the proxy materials.
The merger closed on October 1, 2021 and the company became Coterra Energy Inc. About 414 million new shares were issued, roughly 50.5% of the total afterwards, so former Cabot holders owned about half. Shares on issue roughly doubled, to about 813.6 million at the end of 2021. The board had five directors from each company, with Dan Dinges as Executive Chairman and Thomas Jorden as CEO. On October 7 the note exchange was completed, covering $705.5 million, $687.3 million and $433.2 million of three Cimarex note series; smaller amounts of each stayed outstanding.
2022-2024: Quiet years, then acquisitions
The record is quiet for 2022 and 2023. In November 2024 Coterra agreed to buy Franklin Mountain Energy for $1.5 billion in cash plus 40,894,925 new shares, while its Cimarex subsidiary agreed to buy assets from Avant Natural Resources for $1.45 billion in cash. Neither deal depended on the other.
In December it sold $1.5 billion of senior notes: $750 million at 5.40% due 2035 and $750 million at 5.90% due 2055. The notes were tied to the pending deals, and would have to be redeemed at 101% of principal if the deals failed. It also signed a $1.0 billion term loan, split equally between the two acquisitions and drawn only when each closed. The filings seen do not show whether either acquisition closed.
2026: Absorbed by Devon
On February 1, 2026 Coterra agreed to merge with Devon Energy, with each Coterra share converting into 0.70 Devon shares and Coterra holders owning about 46% of the combined company. The agreement carried an $865 million termination fee in specified cases. US antitrust waiting time expired on April 1, and both companies scheduled shareholder meetings for May 4.
The merger closed on May 7, 2026. Coterra became a wholly owned Devon subsidiary, its shares were delisted from the NYSE, its JPMorgan credit agreement was paid off and terminated, and all its directors and officers left their posts, including Thomas Jorden, whose severance became payable. On May 19, 2026 Coterra deregistered its securities, ending its obligation to file reports with the SEC. The status of its notes and the term loan is not shown in the filings seen.
Written from the 23 story beats below (2014 to 19 May 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.