Continental Resources Business Practices

[icecold]

Thanks for the correction.

But the point being, neither he or Aubrey are on it now and their personal fortunes seem to be managed in the same way in which they've run their businesses.


Anyway, Harold Hamm seems to be a much more astute businessman and the results at CLR show that.

Agree. Aubrey and Ward probably did everything they could to finagle their way onto the list. While I am guessing someone like Nichols does everything he can to hide money in different trusts, etc to stay off the list. (Not saying Nichols would be on the list, but just seems opposite of AM and TW (not earth changing news there)).

Hopefully Hamm and CLR will make more of an impact in the community as far as giving goes.

[ou48A]

CLR just hit an all-time high and now has a market cap of more than Chesapeake and Sandridge combined. Astounding growth.

Actually just over a year ago CLR was just a little higher than it was yesterday or today.
CLR closed at 91.15, up $1.05 +1.17%.
Today’s enter day high which is also a 52 week high was $91.89.


The news which is largely responsible for the recent CLR rise IMHO was posted on a link on post # 46 that I made. This news makes CLR more valuable. With Hamm’s age and possible heath issues this increases the odds of a possible buyout IMHO.
Unlike SD and CHK IMHO CLR is a well-managed company. I would think and certainly hope that this value would be recognized by another company. In the event of a buy out I would hope they would keep most of the work force in OCK for their talents?

[ou48A]

Hopefully Hamm and CLR will make more of an impact in the community as far as giving goes.

Prior to anytime Hamm has made a major donation he has sold off enough CLR shares to pretty well cover the cost of the donation. Since this is a matter of public record it’s something to keep an eye out for.
I don’t know if Hamm is an OU or OSU sports fan and if he might be inclined to send any money for sports or academics above what he has already done?

[Pete]

Harold Hamm is going through a divorce which is probably one of the reasons that they pulled back their horns on the Stage Center site.

They are still growing like crazy but he probably wants to wait until the divorce terms are settled, as he's going to lose a lot of his net worth and maybe even shares in Continental.

[blangtang]

Actually just over a year ago CLR was just a little higher than it was yesterday or today.
CLR closed at 91.15, up $1.05 +1.17%.
Today’s enter day high which is also a 52 week high was $91.89.


The news which is largely responsible for the recent CLR rise IMHO was posted on a link on post # 46 that I made. This news makes CLR more valuable. With Hamm’s age and possible heath issues this increases the odds of a possible buyout IMHO.
Unlike SD and CHK IMHO CLR is a well-managed company. I would think and certainly hope that this value would be recognized by another company. In the event of a buy out I would hope they would keep most of the work force in OCK for their talents?

Interesting - I hear the opposite, that CLR is more likely to be be taken private since Hamm already owns something like 2/3rds or so of the company.

[HangryHippo]

Why would they now be bought out? I don't understand how that makes them any more likely now.

[ou48A]

Why would they now be bought out? I don't understand how that makes them any more likely now.

The majors have a tendency to like a higher degree of certainty ….
This new development somewhat increases the degree of certainty in my humble opinion.

[ou48A]

Interesting - I hear the opposite, that CLR is more likely to be be taken private since Hamm already owns something like 2/3rds or so of the company.

Taking CLR private would still involve a buy-out and at likely a premium price or risk a very serious legal battle from other shareholders.
CLR still has lots of expansion possibilities. They will still need a great deal of working capital to execute their plans.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see CLR going private anytime soon.

[ou48A]

Harold Hamm is going through a divorce which is probably one of the reasons that they pulled back their horns on the Stage Center site.

They are still growing like crazy but he probably wants to wait until the divorce terms are settled, as he's going to lose a lot of his net worth and maybe even shares in Continental.

I would bet that after his first divorce that Hamm singed some type of prenuptial arrangement?

[blangtang]

Taking CLR private would still involve a buy-out and at likely a premium price or risk a very serious legal battle from other shareholders.
CLR still has lots of expansion possibilities. They will still need a great deal of working capital to execute their plans.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see CLR going private anytime soon.

Fair enough, to be clear the speculation on going private is more in the 2015 time frame, nothing pointing to that possibility being imminent.

I suppose Continental would be a good target for a major wanting a stake in the Bakken, I've heard Whiting's name tossed around as well. we'll see if anything happens up there.

[Teo9969]

A buyout? ...Hamm owns just under 70% of CLR.

[Pete]

Quietly, CLR just hit a 52-week high and continues to surge.

In fact,this appears to be an all-time high as well.

[DowntownMan]

All time high is like in the 94 or 96 range. So give it a few weeks and you will have your all time high. Yes the 92.99 was the highest it's been in the last 52 weeks

[ou48A]

Exclusive: Looming divorce could threaten U.S. oil baron's empire - Yahoo! Finance
Reuters – 6 minutes ago

ATLANTA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Continental Resources chief executive Harold Hamm, one of America's wealthiest and most influential businessmen, is embroiled in a contentious divorce that could lead to a record financial settlement and threaten his control of America's fastest-growing oil company.

Sue Ann Hamm, Harold Hamm's second wife and a former executive at Continental, filed for divorce on May 19, 2012, Oklahoma court records show.

Documents in the case are sealed. But in a March 7, 2013 filing obtained by Reuters, Sue Ann Hamm alleges that Harold "was having an affair" that she discovered in 2010, prompting her to later file for divorce.

Harold Hamm, 67, is a leading force behind the U.S. oil boom and served as the senior energy adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign. Time magazine named him one of the most influential people in the world, and Forbes listed him last year among the 50 richest Americans. Ranked No. 35, Hamm is worth $11.3 billion, the magazine estimated.

His estranged wife, Sue Ann Hamm, 56, has held key posts at Continental. She has led oil-industry trade groups in Oklahoma, testified to Congress on behalf of Continental and created Continental's oil and gas marketing units. She is no longer with the company, her lawyer said.

The Hamms were married in April 1988 and have two adult children, Jane and Hilary. Harold Hamm has three children from a prior marriage that ended in divorce in 1987.

Whether the Hamms signed a prenuptial agreement is unclear. Legal analysts who reviewed court filings said that without one, the case could lead to a record-breaking financial settlement - one that could exceed the $1.7 billion paid by News Corp. founder and chairman Rupert Murdoch to ex-wife Anna in 1999. One outcome could be a split of "marital property" that may include dividing Harold Hamm's controlling 68 percent stake in Continental, currently worth $11.2 billion.

"I don't know of anything that's ever been this big," said Barbara Atwood, professor emeritus of family law at the University of Arizona. "There's just so much money involved."

Continental was subpoenaed in the case last summer, and it was ordered by the Oklahoma court to hand over documents late last year. Four other companies controlled by Hamm also were subpoenaed.

A review of Continental's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and company statements shows no mention of the divorce proceedings. Although corporate governance scholars said Continental had no legal obligation to disclose the Hamms' divorce proceedings to shareholders, "It's a lawsuit that involves a potential impact on the controlling shareholder," said Charles Elson, director of The Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. "Certainly, it would be relevant to an investor if there is going to be or could be a shift in control."

After receiving inquiries from Reuters, Continental put out a news release acknowledging the divorce case. The fight, the company said, "is not anticipated to have any impact or effect on the company's business or operations."

Spokeswoman Kristin Miskovsky didn't respond to requests for comment.

An attorney for Sue Ann Hamm declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement governing the case.

Continental shares were trading down 2.1 percent at $86.86 by 3:16 p.m. EDT. They fell as low as $85.85 after the divorce proceedings were acknowledged by Hamm.

Hamm, the 13th child of Oklahoma sharecroppers, started his career at age 20, scrubbing scum out of oil barrels. A few years later, he drilled a 75-barrel-a-day gusher in his home state, helping pay for university classes in geology. He founded Continental in 1967, two decades before he and the former Sue Ann Arnall were married. She is an economist and a lawyer.

Hamm's biggest breakthrough came in the 1990s, when he helped discover the Bakken field of North Dakota, the largest new U.S. oil prospect since the 1960s. The discovery helped Continental lead a resurgence in U.S. oil production, using the controversial drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The technique pumps water laden with sand and chemicals underground to release previously unreachable oil reserves.

Today, the Bakken yields nearly 700,000 barrels a day, roughly 10 percent of American output. Continental controls more than 1 million acres in the formation, which stretches from North Dakota to Montana. The firm also owns oil and gas rights in several other states, including Oklahoma.

Continental has said the entire Bakken field - being developed by several companies - may contain 24 billion barrels of oil. That would be enough to meet U.S. oil demand for more than three years. Drilling by Continental alone added 649 million barrels to the company's proved oil reserves between 2008 and 2012.

The firm says it controls drilling leases to more oil-rich Bakken acres than any other company, helping to make Hamm the largest oil baron in the United States.

Hamm directly controls 126.3 million shares, or 68 percent, of Oklahoma City-based Continental and more through family trusts. Those shares alone are worth at least $11.2 billion. Continental shares have risen 21 percent this year and closed on March 20 at $89.15, down 0.6 percent.

But his stake in Continental could change significantly as a result of a divorce settlement. The firm's massive growth occurred during the marriage. Its share price has surged nearly 500 percent in the five years since an initial public offering in 2007.

Under Oklahoma family law, wealth accrued through the efforts of either spouse during a marriage would typically be subject to "equitable distribution" between the parties.

"A court in Oklahoma may look closely at what each party has contributed," said legal specialist Atwood. "But it sounds to me like both spouses here were working hard in the business."

"Where there are concerns about company control in a settlement, a spouse would usually get paid the value of the shares," she said. "This is going to be really interesting."

Court records show that Sue Ann Hamm petitioned for divorce in May 2012. But earlier Oklahoma court records suggest the Hamms' relationship has been rocky.

In 1998, Harold Hamm filed for divorce and demanded that Sue Ann undergo a psychological evaluation. He later withdrew the divorce petition and the case file was ordered destroyed this year, on February 13, according to Oklahoma court records. What prompted the destruction of the file is unclear. In 2005, Sue Ann Hamm subsequently filed for divorce; that case also was dropped.

Her 2005 divorce filing is now a key issue in the Hamms' divorce battle, according to a court document reviewed by Reuters. Indeed, it could play a pivotal role in determining how property - including interest in Continental - will be divided, legal analysts said.

According to Harold Hamm, the couple "actually separated in the fall of 2005 and have lived separate lives ever since," the court document says.

But Sue Ann Hamm's attorneys counter that the Hamms "continued to reside together (although they do own four homes), travel together, attend public functions together, raise their children together, file joint tax returns, and work together."

In May 2012, for instance, Harold and Sue Ann Hamm jointly hosted a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Romney at their $3 million mansion in Nichols Hills, Oklahoma, according to photos and media reports. The event raised more than $2 million for the Romney campaign.

Last September, Reuters reported that Harold Hamm had made political contributions that exceeded federal legal limits by as much as 41 percent during the 2011-2012 election period. Continental said at the time that the donations were made from an account held jointly by Harold and Sue Ann Hamm and were intended to be split between Hamm and his wife, which would have kept the donations within legal limits.

In 2011, Harold and Sue Ann Hamm also jointly gave $20 million to a diabetes center at the University of Oklahoma named for Harold Hamm, who has Type II diabetes. The same year, the couple signed up for Warren Buffett and Bill Gates' Giving Pledge initiative, indicating their intention to dedicate most of their wealth to philanthropy.

In a court filing two weeks ago, Sue Ann Hamm's attorneys say the Hamms agreed "to engage in marriage counseling sessions in an effort to save their marriage" in November 2010, after Sue Ann Hamm concluded that her husband had been unfaithful.

Whether the Hamms separated in 2005 or more recently is crucial as the court determines how Harold Hamm's assets will be divided, legal analysts said. Under Oklahoma family law, the increase in the value of an asset during marriage is considered part of the total pool of "marital property."

"In general, if you own property prior to the marriage and you bring it to the marriage, it is separate," said Marianne Blair, a professor of family law at the University of Tulsa. "But that separate property can increase in value. To the extent the increase was due to marital efforts or marital funds," it can be divided by the court.

Hamm divorced his first wife, Judith Ann, in 1987, according to Oklahoma court records. A document filed by Sue Ann Hamm's attorneys in the current case shows they received access to marital records in the prior divorce in March.

Attorneys for both Hamms will present evidence about when the couple separated and the resulting "date of valuation of (the) business" on May 20, according to the court docket.

What's decided could help determine whether their divorce settlement rivals the largest reported divorce settlement to date - the $1.7 billion paid by Murdoch to his ex-wife Anna in 1999. That settlement, in California, directly affected shareholders of News Corp. because it awarded Murdoch's three eldest children stakes in the voting shares of the company. Reports of the Murdoch divorce sent News Corp. shares lower.

Daniel Jaffe, a family law attorney in Beverly Hills, California who represented Anna Murdoch, declined to discuss the Murdoch case. But after reviewing the court docket and document obtained by Reuters in the Hamm case, he said Sue Ann Hamm's decades of work for Continental was unique compared with most divorce cases.

"She has a leg up because she worked for the company and she can claim that a portion of her efforts went into making the company what it is today," Jaffe said. "She was married to him when the value of the company went up. She has got to be looking for a couple of billion dollars."

[Bellaboo]

I had an economics professor tell the class one day 'you can marry more money in 5 minutes than you can earn in a lifetime'.....guess he was spot on.

[HangryHippo]

Am I the only one that wants to tell Reuters to go to hell?

[DowntownMan]

Am I the only one that wants to tell Reuters to go to hell?

Reuters needs to get out of okc and leave our oil and gas industry alone.

[adaniel]

At this point, I think they're just digging and seeing what sticks.

I mean, really, a divorce? How is this anyone's business? High net worth people get divorced all of the time and whatever entities they control go on just fine.

[HangryHippo]

At this point, I think they're just digging and seeing what sticks.

I mean, really, a divorce? How is this anyone's business? High net worth people get divorced all of the time and whatever entities they control go on just fine.

That's what's so annoying. This stuff happens all the time but because it seems like they're on a little rampage against OKC's O&G businesses, they hang around and it's beyond annoying.

[onthestrip]

Am I the only one that wants to tell Reuters to go to hell?

Why, because they report news? This is obviously a story because it might be the biggest divorce settlement ever that involves one of the richest men in the US. Its not like this will affect OKC folks, take it easy.

[ou48A]

The CEO has direct control of an unusually large percentage of the stock of a publically traded company and a significant percentage of this stock could be liquidated as a result of a divorce settlement.... This is a news worthy event to shareholders of CLR.

[Pete]

The CEO has direct control of an unusually large percentage of the stock of a publically traded company and a significant percentage of this stock could be liquidated as a result of a divorce settlement.... This is a news worthy event to shareholders of CLR.

Absolutely agree.

And while the local newspaper has known about this for some time, it's never been discussed in the media. If it had been, Reuters wouldn't have any new news. As it is, I'm glad they are bringing this into the light.

And this may be the biggest divorce settlement of all time and directly impact a major Oklahoma employer... How is this NOT news??


I was told that the reason Continental backed off the State Center site was due to this pending divorce. So yes, this whole situation impacts OKC very directly and I'm glad someone is at least attempting to get to the facts.

[zookeeper]

Blame the messenger? I don't think Reuters has reported anything that wasn't true. It's not their fault we just happened to have two peas from the same pod with McClendon and Tom Ward, and the implications of this Hamm divorce is huge news. OU48A and Pete are right.

[Pete]

Sad the Oklahoman only picks up on this after Reuters goes to press with a long story filled with all the details.

People have known about this for a while yet the Oklahoman never had even mentioned it until now

Continental Resources founder confirms divorce proceedings | News OK

[Steve]

I'm going to get into an argument on this. But reporting on this one isn't as clear cut or simple as folks are assuming. I'll just say this... it ain't easy being a professional reporter, and it's even more difficult being a professional editor - especially if they have to oversee folks like myself and Brianna Bailey. (and as an aside - records were sealed. Reuters "obtained" a part of the filing. How? Who provided it? I don't know. But were we (JR, OKC Biz and Gaz heard this too) supposed to report an unconfirmed rumor of a divorce? And don't be so sure Reuters has it all correct on this one....they certainly omitted important details that are in The Oklahoman's report tomorrow.