SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - Goodrich Petroleum Corp. late Thursday said that as a result of Standard and Poors' ratings upgrade of Bear Stearns Cos. debt, Bear's obligation to transfer its rights and obligations under a December 2007 capped call agreement to an entity with a higher credit rating has been cured.
The capped call agreement requires a Bear affiliate to transfer its rights and obligations within 30 days if Bear's credit rating is below either Baa1 by Moody's or BBB+ by S&P.
With the March 24 upgrade, Bear's credit ratings stood at Baa1 by Moody's and AA- by S&P.
A share lending agreement that requires collateral to be posted by a Bear affiliate if Bear's credit rating is below either A3 by Moody's or A- by S&P remains in place.
The share lending agreement is marked to market on a daily basis depending on the value of Goodrich Petroleum shares at the close of each day's trading, the company said.
Shares of Goodrich Petroleum, a Houston-based energy company, closed the regular session up $1.50, or around 5.4%, at $29.24. Brigid Gaffikin bg/gm COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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