Item 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
Merger Agreement
As previously disclosed, on July 10, 2021, Penn Virginia Corporation, a Virginia corporation (the “Company” or “Penn Virginia”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), with Lonestar Resources US Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Lonestar”). Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Merger Agreement.
The Merger Agreement provides that, among other things and upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, Upsilon Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Penn Virginia (“Merger Sub Inc.”), will merge with and into Lonestar (the “First Merger”), with Lonestar continuing as the surviving corporation in the First Merger (the “Surviving Corporation”), and, immediately following the First Merger, the Surviving Corporation will merge with and into Penn Virginia Merger Sub LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Penn Virginia (“Merger Sub LLC” and, such merger, the “Second Merger” and, together with the First Merger, the “Mergers”), with Merger Sub LLC continuing as the surviving entity in the Second Merger (the “Surviving Company”).
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the First Merger (the “Effective Time”), each share of common stock, $0.001 par value, of Lonestar (“Lonestar Common Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will automatically be converted into the right to receive 0.51 (the “Exchange Ratio”) fully paid and nonassessable shares of common stock, $0.01 par value, of Penn Virginia (“Penn Virginia Common Stock”). Cash will be paid in lieu of any fractional shares of Penn Virginia Common Stock that otherwise would have been issued to any Lonestar stockholder in the First Merger. Any shares of Lonestar Common Stock held by Penn Virginia, Merger Sub Inc. or Lonestar immediately prior to the Effective Time will be canceled and retired for no consideration and will cease to exist.
Promptly following the effective time of the Second Merger, Penn Virginia will contribute all of the limited liability company interests in the Surviving Company to Penn Virginia Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, in exchange for the issuance of common units representing limited partner interests in PV Energy Holdings, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“PV Energy Holdings”), in accordance with Section 3.04 of the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of PV Energy Holdings (the “Contribution” and, together with the Mergers, the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, the “Transactions”).
Following the closing of the Mergers, Penn Virginia’s existing shareholders and Lonestar’s existing stockholders will own approximately 87% and 13%, respectively, of the combined company.
The board of directors of Penn Virginia has unanimously (i) determined that the Transactions are in the best interests of, and are advisable to, the Company and its shareholders, (ii) approved and declared advisable (a) the Merger Agreement and the Transactions, including the Mergers and the Contribution, and (b) the Lonestar Support Agreements (as defined below) and the transactions contemplated thereby and (iii) resolved to recommend that the Company’s shareholders approve the issuance of shares of Penn Virginia Common Stock in connection with the First Merger (the “Share Issuance”).
Penn Virginia and Lonestar intend, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, that (i) the Mergers qualify as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and (ii) the Merger Agreement constitutes a “plan of reorganization” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Sections 1.368-2(g) and 1.368-3(a).
Treatment of Lonestar Equity Awards and Warrants
The Merger Agreement provides that, immediately prior to the Effective Time, each Lonestar restricted stock unit (including those subject to performance-based vesting conditions) (each, a “Lonestar RSU”) that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether vested or unvested, will automatically become fully vested and will be cancelled and converted into a number of shares of Penn Virginia Common Stock based on the Exchange Ratio, less applicable tax withholdings and with any applicable performance-based conditions treated as having been achieved in full.