History
Pengrowth grew through the Monterey and NAL deals, then cut its dividend, sold assets to cut debt, and was acquired by Cona Resources in January 2020.
2010-2012: Becoming a corporation and the NAL deal
The record opens in September 2010, when Pengrowth completed its combination with Monterey Exploration Ltd. Monterey holders received about 28,018,194 trust units and 4,994,426 exchangeable shares. The deal added an operated Groundbirch Montney position in northeast British Columbia of 21 sections (19.0 net), and Pengrowth raised its 2010 capital spending guidance from $285 million to $350 million. In October the board approved converting the trust into a dividend-paying corporation, with one common share for each trust unit and an expected initial dividend of $0.07 per share monthly. It said about $2.7 billion of tax pools meant no income tax was expected until after 2014.
Early 2011 brought trouble at Swan Hills, where a gas gathering system ruptured and caught fire, leaving about 1,500 boe/d (barrels of oil equivalent a day) shut in. The Groundbirch gas plant, though, was commissioned on December 18, 2010. In December 2011 Pengrowth renegotiated its bank facility, extending it to November 29, 2015, with $1.0 billion committed.
In March 2012 Pengrowth signed an agreement to combine with NAL Energy Corporation, offering 0.86 of a Pengrowth share per NAL share. Former NAL holders were to own about 26% of the enlarged company, diluting existing holders to roughly 74%. Shareholders of both companies approved the deal in May, with about 98% of Pengrowth votes cast in favour, and it closed on May 31, 2012 at a value of about $1.6 billion. Pengrowth also took on NAL's three convertible debentures.
2012-2014: Dividend cut and the Lindbergh project
Soon after the merger, Pengrowth confirmed that its August 2012 dividend would be Cdn $0.04 per share, down from $0.07. The filing gave no reason. In October 2012 it signed a note purchase agreement for new private senior notes totalling US$335 million plus £15 million and Cdn$25 million, due between 2019 and 2024.
The focus then turned to Lindbergh, a thermal bitumen (heavy oil heated so it flows) project. In January 2013 Pengrowth sanctioned its acceleration, and in July 2013 it received regulatory approval for a first commercial phase of 12,500 barrels a day. In March 2014 it said it had beaten its 2013 production guidance on lower capital spending, though the figures were not in the filing.
2015-2016: Low prices and asset sales
In March 2015 the dividend was halved again to Cdn $0.02 per share, and Pengrowth restated its bank credit agreement with Royal Bank of Canada as agent. In September it announced a new dividend policy aimed at strengthening its balance sheet amid low commodity prices. It then began selling assets: Bodo for $95 million in October, and the Jenner area for $80 million. On October 30 the New York Stock Exchange warned that its share price breached a listing standard.
In January 2016 Pengrowth announced a capital budget it called prudent and temporarily suspended the dividend. No reinstatement appears in the record. In May 2016 it won approval for a 17,500 barrel-a-day second phase at Lindbergh, and in December it sold a 4.0% gross overriding royalty on Lindbergh for $250 million.
2017-2020: Selling down and the Cona takeover
In February 2017 Pengrowth planned to cut debt by $530 million, by retiring $127 million of convertible debentures and prepaying US$300 million of 6.35% senior notes. Whether this was completed is not shown. Sales followed: North Central Alberta for $180 million, Bernadet Montney lands for $92 million, and the remaining Swan Hills assets for $185 million, which closed July 6. A second NYSE listing notice arrived in May. In July it agreed to sell Olds/Garrington for $300 million. In October it restated its credit agreement, now with security over all assets, and amended its note agreements. Shares on issue were 552,246,104 at the end of 2017 and 556,117,090 at the end of 2018; the record does not explain the rise.
The record is then quiet until December 2019, when shareholders and secured debt holders approved an acquisition of the company by Cona Resources Ltd., and a litigation decision was received. The court approved the arrangement the next day. On January 7, 2020, Pengrowth announced the arrangement had closed. The filings do not show the price, what shareholders received, or whether the shares were delisted.
Written from the 32 story beats below (2010 to 7 Jan 2020), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.