Comstock Resources, Inc., an oil and natural gas company, announced that its majority shareholder, Jerry Jones, recently made a $100,450,000 equity investment in the company.
Jones, whose net worth is approximately $13.5 billion, is set to purchase 12,500,000 common stock shares through a private placement, priced at $8.036 per share. The completion of the transaction is contingent upon meeting customary closing conditions. As a result of this equity investment, Jerry Jones's ownership of the company's common shares outstanding will increase from 65% to approximately 67%.
Comstock will utilize the funds from the equity investment to reduce its bank debt. This debt was taken on partly to finance the acquisition of 200,000 net undeveloped acres in Comstock’s Western Haynesville play, totaling $58.7 million, which were recently completed.
Comstock Resources is primarily engaged in developing the extensive dry natural gas reservoir known as the Haynesville Shale in North Louisiana and East Texas. Discovered by Chesapeake Energy in early 2008, the Haynesville Shale extends vertically between depths of 10,000 and 14,000 feet.
According to Forbes, Jones acquired a controlling interest in Comstock in 2018 by exchanging $620 million worth of oil-producing properties for a majority stake in the company. When Jones assumed control of Comstock, benchmark natural gas prices were low, approximately $3.25.
In 2019, Jones invested an additional $475 million when Comstock acquired rival Covey Park Energy in a deal valued at $2.2 billion. When the Cowboys owner increased his involvement, prices declined further, dropping to below $3. This year, natural gas prices have soared to as high as $9.85, with an average price hovering around $6.59.
“The greatest wealth is in the gas,” Jones said at the time. “It’s much bigger than the Cowboys.”
Jones's venture into the oil industry began in the 1970s, with an investment that made him his first million.
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