Trive Partners with Core Minerals to Acquire Chesapeake’s Southern Appalachian Division

Trive Capital (“Trive”), the Dallas-based private equity firm, in partnership with Core Minerals III, LLC (“Core Appalachia”) has acquired substantially all of the assets of Chesapeake Energy Corporation’s Southern Appalachian Division. The assets include approximately 1.3 million net acres of conventional gas production and developmental acreage in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, a gathering system and associated midstream facilities. The assets also produce over 83 MMcfe/d through a system supported by over 4,000 miles of pipeline.

“We are excited to partner with a management team that has a long history of successfully operating production and midstream assets and a track record of driving results,” commented Conner Searcy, the Managing Partner of Trive. “We believe we have acquired an exceptional set of assets in a prolific area of the country with long-term potential and an ability to capitalize on several near-term tangible value creation initiatives to optimize the Southern Appalachian position.”

Core Appalachia President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Rode said, “The combination of substantial long lived reserves, the expansive gathering system with NGL and CO2 processing capabilities, along with an established firm transportation position provides Core Appalachia a growth platform conducive to its goal of being the market commanding, vertically integrated independent oil and gas company in the region.”

Trive Managing Director Blake Bonner commented, “We have a long track record of executing complex carve out transactions and look forward to partnering with a very talented team in Core Appalachia and quickly standing up the operations. In working closely on the project for almost a full year, the Core Appalachia and Trive teams were able to leverage each other’s strengths to chart a plan for successfully carving out Chesapeake’s Southern Appalachian Division as a free standing exploration & production and midstream company.”

About Core Appalachia

Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Core Appalachia is a privately held company focused on the acquisition and operation of producing oil and natural gas conventional and unconventional properties.

About Trive Capital

Trive Capital is a Dallas, Texas-based private equity firm investing in equity and debt securities with approximately $900 million in capital under management. Trive focuses on investing in what it sees as strategically viable middle-market companies with the potential for transformational upside through operational improvement. Trive seeks to maximize total returns to its investors through a hands-on, collaborative partnership with management teams and equity partners.