| Item 7.01. | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
On January 17, 2019, Ultra Petroleum Corp. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing the opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Appellate Court”) with respect to the Company’s pending make-whole and postpetition interest claims, as further described under Item 8.01 below. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated into this Item 7.01 by reference.
The information contained or incorporated in this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any of the Company’s filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof and regardless of any general incorporation language in such filings, except to the extent expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.
As previously disclosed, on April 29, 2016, the Company and its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Bankruptcy Court”). The Company’s chapter 11 cases were jointly administered under the captionIn re Ultra Petroleum Corp., et al, CaseNo. 16-32202 (MI) (Bankr. S.D. Tex.). On February 13, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court approved the Company’s amended Disclosure Statement (by order subsequently amended on February 21, 2017), on March 14, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Company’sDebtors’ Second Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization, and on April 12, 2017, the Company emerged from bankruptcy.
As previously disclosed, during the Company’s bankruptcy proceedings, many holders of the Company’s prepetition indebtedness filed proofs of claim with the Bankruptcy Court, asserting various claims against the Company, including claims for unpaid postpetition interest (including interest at the default rates under the prepetition debt agreements), make-whole amounts, and other fees and obligations allegedly arising under the prepetition debt agreements. The Company disputed the claims made by the holders of Company’s prepetition indebtedness for certain make-whole amounts and postpetition interest at the default rates provided for in the prepetition debt agreements. On September 22, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court denied the Company’s objection to the pending make-whole and postpetition interest claims. Further, on October 6, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order requiring the Company to distribute amounts attributable to the disputed claims to the applicable parties. Pursuant to the order, on October 12, 2017, the Company distributed $399.0 million from a $400.0 million reserve fund set up in connection with its emergence from chapter 11 proceedings to the parties asserting the make-whole and postpetition interest claims and $1.3 million (the balance remaining after distributions to the parties asserting claims) was returned to the Company. The disbursement of $399.0 million was comprised of $223.8 million representing the fees owed under the make-whole claims described above and $175.2 million representing postpetition interest at the default rate.
On January 17, 2019, the Appellate Court issued an opinion vacating the order of the Bankruptcy Court denying the Company’s objection to the asserted make-whole and postpetition interest claims, and remanding the matter and those determinations to the Bankruptcy Court for further reconsideration.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report onForm 8-K, including the exhibit hereto, include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, including but not limited to statements relating to the make-whole premium, post-petition interest claims, and the ultimate outcome of the make-whole litigation on remand to the Bankruptcy Court. Any statement, including any opinions, forecasts, projections or other statements, other than statements of historical fact, are or may be forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements herein are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct and actual results may differ materially from those projected or reflected in such statements. Certain risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s
