Equity

Common Stock

A summary of the changes in our common shares issued for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 is detailed below.



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016	2015		2014
	(in thousands)
Shares issued as of January 1	664,796	664,944		666,192
Exchange of convertible notes	55,428	—		—
Exchange of senior notes	53,924	—		—
Conversion of preferred stock	120,186	—		—
Restricted stock issuances (net of forfeitures and cancellations)^(a)	1,945	(163	)	(2,529	)
Stock option exercises	—	15		1,281
Shares issued as of December 31	896,279	664,796		664,944

____________________________________________


(a)	The amount for 2014 reflects forfeitures upon the June 2014 spin-off of our oilfield services business.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, our shareholders approved an amendment to our certificate of incorporation to increase our authorized common stock from 1,000,000,000 shares to 1,500,000,000 shares, par value $0.01 per share.

Preferred Stock

Following is a summary of our preferred stock, including the primary conversion terms as of December 31, 2016:



Preferred Stock Series	Issue Date	Liquidation Preference per Share		Holder's Conversion Right	Conversion Rate	Conversion Price		Company's Conversion Right From	Company's Market Conversion Trigger^(a)
5.75% cumulative convertible non-voting	May and June 2010	$	1,000	Any time	39.6858	$	25.1979	May 17, 2015	$	32.7572

5.75% (series A) cumulative convertible non-voting	May 2010	$	1,000	Any time	38.3508	$	26.0751	May 17, 2015	$	33.8976

4.50% cumulative convertible	September 2005	$	100	Any time	2.4561	$	40.7152	September 15, 2010	$	52.9298

5.00% cumulative convertible (series 2005B)	November 2005	$	100	Any time	2.7745	$	36.0431	November 15, 2010	$	46.8560

___________________________________________


(a)	Convertible at the Company's option if the trading price of the Company's common stock equals or exceeds the trigger price for a specified time period or after the applicable conversion date if there are less than 250,000 shares of 4.50% or 5.00% (Series 2005B) preferred stock outstanding or 25,000 shares of 5.75% or 5.75% (Series A) preferred stock outstanding.

Outstanding shares of our preferred stock for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 are detailed below.



	5.75%		5.75% (A)		4.50%	5.00% (2005B)
	(in thousands)
Shares outstanding as of January 1, 2016	1,497		1,100		2,559	2,096
Preferred stock conversions/exchanges^(a)	(654	)	(624	)	—	(134	)
Shares outstanding as of December 31, 2016	843		476		2,559	1,962

Shares outstanding as of January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015	1,497		1,100		2,559	2,096

Shares outstanding as of January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014	1,497		1,100		2,559	2,096

____________________________________________

(a)

During 2016, holders of our 5.75% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock exchanged or converted 653,872 shares into 59,141,429 shares of common stock, holders of our 5.75% (Series A) Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock exchanged or converted 624,137 shares into 60,032,734 shares of common stock and holders of our 5.00% (Series 2005B) Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock exchanged or converted 134,000 shares into 1,012,032 shares of common stock. In connection with the exchanges noted above, we recognized a loss equal to the excess of the fair value of all common stock issued in exchange for the preferred stock over the fair value of the common stock issuable pursuant to the original terms of the preferred stock. The loss of $428 million is reflected as a reduction to net income available to common stockholders for the purpose of calculating earnings per common share.

Dividends

In January 2016, we announced that we were suspending dividend payments on each series of our outstanding convertible preferred stock. Suspension of the dividends did not constitute an event of default under our revolving credit facility or bond indentures. Our preferred stock dividends for the year ended December 31, 2016 (paid in arrears) are detailed below.



	5.75%		5.75% (A)		4.50%		5.00% (2005B)
	($ in millions)
Dividends in arrears	$	48	$	27	$	12	$	10

On February 15, 2017, we reinstated the payment of dividends on each series of our outstanding convertible preferred stock and paid our dividends in arrears.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for cash flow hedges, net of tax, are detailed below.



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016			2015
	($ in millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	(99	)	$	(143	)

Other comprehensive income before reclassifications	(13		)	20
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income	16			24
Net other comprehensive income (loss)	3			44

Balance, end of period	$	(96	)	$	(99	)

For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, into the consolidated statements of operations are detailed below.



Details About Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Components	Affected Line Item in the Statement Where Net Income is Presented	Amounts Reclassified
		($ in millions)
Year Ended December 31, 2016
Net losses on cash flow hedges:
Commodity contracts	Oil, natural gas and NGL revenues	$	16
Foreign currency derivative	Gain (loss) on purchases or exchanges of debt	—
Total reclassifications for the period, net of tax		$	16

Year Ended December 31, 2015
Net losses on cash flow hedges:
Commodity contracts	Oil, natural gas and NGL revenues	$	23
Foreign currency derivative	Gain (loss) on purchases or exchanges of debt	1
Total reclassifications for the period, net of tax		$	24

Noncontrolling Interests

Cleveland Tonkawa Financial Transaction. We formed CHK C-T in March 2012 to continue development of a portion of our oil and natural gas assets in our Cleveland and Tonkawa plays. In March 2012, in a private placement, third-party investors contributed $1.25 billion in cash to CHK C-T in exchange for (i) 1.25 million preferred shares, and (ii) our obligation to deliver a 3.75% overriding royalty interest (ORRI) in the existing wells and up to 1,000 future net wells to be drilled on the contributed play leasehold. We initially committed to drill and complete, for the benefit of CHK C-T in the area of mutual interest, a minimum cumulative total of 300 net wells. We ultimately drilled and completed 190 net wells, and the drilling commitment was suspended in January 2015.

During 2015, CHK C-T sold all of its oil and natural gas properties to FourPoint Energy, LLC and immediately used the consideration received, plus other cash it had on hand, to repurchase and cancel all of the outstanding preferred shares in CHK C-T. In connection with the repurchase and cancellation of the CHK C-T preferred stock and related agreements with the CHK C-T investors, we eliminated quarterly preferred dividend payments and all related future drilling and ORRI commitments attributable to CHK C-T. The sale of the oil and natural gas properties was accounted for as a reduction of capitalized costs with no gain or loss recognized.

For 2015 and 2014, income of $50 million and $75 million, respectively, was attributable to the noncontrolling interests of CHK C-T.

Utica Financial Transaction. We formed CHK Utica, L.L.C. (CHK Utica) in October 2011 to develop a portion of our Utica Shale oil and natural gas assets. During November and December 2011, in private placements, third-party investors contributed $1.25 billion in cash to CHK Utica in exchange for (i) 1.25 million preferred shares, and (ii) our obligation to deliver a 3% ORRI in 1,500 net wells to be drilled on certain of our Utica Shale leasehold.

In July 2014, we repurchased all of the outstanding preferred shares of CHK Utica from third-party preferred shareholders for approximately $1.254 billion, or approximately $1,189 per share including accrued dividends. The $447 million difference between the cash paid for the preferred shares and the carrying value of the noncontrolling interest acquired was reflected in retained earnings and as a reduction to net income available to common stockholders for purposes of our EPS computations. Pursuant to the transaction, our obligation to pay quarterly dividends to third-party preferred shareholders was eliminated. In addition, the development agreement was terminated pursuant to the transaction, which eliminated our obligation to drill and complete a minimum number of wells within a specified period for the benefit of CHK Utica. Our repurchase of the outstanding preferred shares in CHK Utica did not affect our obligation to deliver a 3% ORRI in 1,500 net wells on certain of our Utica Shale leasehold.

The CHK Utica investors’ right to receive, proportionately, a 3% ORRI in the first 1,500 net wells drilled on certain of our Utica Shale leasehold is subject to an increase to 4% on net wells earned in any year following a year in which we do not meet our net well commitment under the ORRI obligation, which runs through 2023. However, in no event are we required to deliver to investors more than a total ORRI of 3% in 1,500 net wells. If at any time we hold fewer net acres than would enable us to drill all then-remaining net wells on 150-acre spacing, the investors have the right to require us to repurchase their right to receive ORRIs in the remaining net wells at the then-current fair market value of the remaining ORRIs. We retain the right to repurchase the investors’ right to receive ORRIs in the remaining net wells at the then-current fair market value of the remaining ORRIs once we have drilled a minimum of 1,300 net wells. As of December 31, 2016, we had drilled 508 net wells. The obligation to deliver future ORRIs has been recorded as a liability which will be settled through the future conveyance of the underlying ORRIs to the investors on a net-well basis, at which time the associated liability will be reversed and the sale of the ORRIs reflected as an adjustment to the capitalized cost of our oil and natural gas properties. We met our ORRI conveyance commitments as of December 31, 2014 and 2015 but did not meet our commitment in 2016. The ORRI will increase to 4% for wells drilled in 2017.

In 2014, income of approximately $43 million was attributable to the noncontrolling interests of CHK Utica.

Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust. In November 2011, Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (the Trust) sold 23,000,000 common units representing beneficial interests in the Trust at a price of $19.00 per common unit in its initial public offering. The common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol “CHKR”. We own 12,062,500 common units and 11,687,500 subordinated units, which in the aggregate represent an approximate 51% beneficial interest in the Trust. The Trust has a total of 46,750,000 units outstanding.

The subordinated units we hold in the Trust are entitled to receive pro rata distributions from the Trust each quarter if and to the extent there is sufficient cash to provide a cash distribution on the common units that is not less than the applicable subordination threshold for the quarter. If there is not sufficient cash to fund a distribution on all of the Trust units, the distribution to be made with respect to the subordinated units is reduced or eliminated for the quarter in order to make a distribution, to the extent possible, of up to the subordination threshold amount on the common units. The distribution made with respect to the subordinated units to Chesapeake was either reduced or eliminated for each of the most recent 18 quarters. In exchange for agreeing to subordinate a portion of our Trust units, and in order to provide additional financial incentive to us to perform operations on the underlying properties in an efficient and cost-effective manner, Chesapeake is entitled to receive incentive distributions equal to 50% of the amount by which the cash available for distribution on the Trust units in any quarter exceeds the applicable incentive threshold for the quarter. The remaining 50% of cash available for distribution in excess of the applicable incentive threshold is to be paid to Trust unitholders, including Chesapeake, on a pro rata basis. Through December 31, 2016, no incentive distributions had been made. At the end of the 2017 second quarter, the subordinated units will automatically convert into common units on a one-for-one basis and our right to receive incentive distributions will terminate. After this time, the common units will no longer have the protection of the subordination threshold, and all Trust unitholders will share in the Trust’s distributions on a pro rata basis.

For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Trust declared and paid the following distributions:



Production Period	Distribution Date	Cash Distribution per Common Unit		Cash Distribution per Subordinated Unit
June 2016 – August 2016	December 1, 2016	$	0.0857	$	—
March 2016 – May 2016	August 29, 2016	$	0.0734	$	—
December 2015 – February 2016	May 31, 2016	$	0.0403	$	—
September 2015 – November 2015	March 1, 2016	$	0.2195	$	—
June 2015 – August 2015	November 30, 2015	$	0.3232	$	—
March 2015 – May 2015	August 31, 2015	$	0.3579	$	—
December 2014 – February 2015	June 1, 2015	$	0.3899	$	—
September 2014 – November 2014	March 2, 2015	$	0.4496	$	—
June 2014 – August 2014	December 1, 2014	$	0.5079	$	—
March 2014 – May 2014	August 29, 2014	$	0.5796	$	—
December 2013 – February 2014	May 30, 2014	$	0.6454	$	—
September 2013 – November 2013	March 3, 2014	$	0.6624	$	—

We have determined that the Trust is a variable interest entity (VIE) and that Chesapeake is the primary beneficiary. As a result, the Trust is included in our consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, we had $257 million and $259 million, respectively, of noncontrolling interests on our consolidated balance sheets attributable to the Trust. Net income attributable to the Trust’s noncontrolling interest is presented in our consolidated statements of operations as $2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, a nominal amount for the year ended December 2015 and $24 million for the year ended December 31, 2014. See Note 15 for further discussion of VIEs.