Chesapeake Energy ( CHK ) will allow ex-CEO Aubrey McClendon to acquire oil and gas holdings adjacent to CHK's wells in which he is a part-owner, altering the terms of an earlier agreement. CHK will pay McClendon nearly $50M in severance and allow him the use of a company aircraft. The relaxed ... By Josh Young : Tom Ward may be on his way out from Sandridge Energy ( SD ) and Aubrey McClendon is out from Cheseapeake Energy ( CHK ), both after battles with activist investors. Both CEOs were attacked by activist investors and in the press for high compensation and insider-deals that were not ... Aubrey McClendon's departure has some wondering if his “philosophical differences” with the board are about whether Chesapeake ( CHK +10.8% ) could be shopping itself . Stifel Nicolaus upgrades shares to Buy on the expectation that McClendon's ouster "could lead to the whole company being put into ... Chesapeake Energy ( CHK ) says its internal probe of the financial dealings of outgoing CEO Aubrey McClendon found no intentional wrongdoing . CHK also says its board concluded that no antitrust laws were violated in connection with the acquisition of Michigan oil and gas rights in 2010. CHK +1% ... Chesapeake Energy ( CHK ) says Aubrey McClendon will retire as CEO effective April 1 . The CHK board says its extensive review of alleged conflicts of interest and other matters involving McClendon has thus far found no improper conduct; a final report will be completed in mid-February. CHK +10.6% ... Chesapeake ( CHK ) will no longer be run by Aubrey McClendon, but the company he founded is far from rid of him . He is entitled to ~$47M in total compensation, but the most enduring entanglement is his interests in up to 2.5% of ~45K producing wells, which could make it harder to structure a ... The Chesapeake ( CHK -1.6% ) board's probe into CEO Aubrey McClendon's deals with the company is expected to end in mid-January and is unlikely to lead to McClendon's ouster, "a person close to the board" tells the WSJ . The fact the probe has been led by Burns Hargis, who supervised McClendon's ... CEO Aubrey McClendon says Chesapeake ( CHK ) expects to announce an asset sale and/or a JV for its Mississippi Lime acreage as part of $11.7B in sales completed or announced by the end of Q3. McClendon also expects to announce a sale of "the vast majority" of its assets in the west Texas Permian ... Chesapeake ( CHK ) let Aubrey McClendon profit from Barnett Shale oil and gas wells while denying the same chance to leaseholders on the properties, according to a new lawsuit . The CEO was allowed to purchase a 1%-2% interest in wells drilled by CHK, using his stake in the wells as collateral; CHK ... Chesapeake Energy ( CHK ) discloses it is substantially reducing executive annual incentive compensation for 2012, during which CEO Aubrey McClendon will receive no bonus. McClendon also will reimburse CHK for his personal use of company aircraft in excess of $250K. 8 comments!