Agreement has not been the cause of, materially contributed to or resulted in such order, decree, ruling, injunction or other action.
There can be no assurance that any of the defendants would be successful in the outcome of any potential future lawsuits. The defense or settlement of any lawsuit or claim that remains unresolved at the time the Merger is completed may adversely affect the combined company’s business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.
If the Merger is completed, the failure to integrate the businesses and operations of the Company and CONSOL successfully in the expected time frame may adversely affect the combined company’s future results.
The Company and CONSOL have operated and, until the completion of the Merger, will continue to operate independently. If the Merger is completed, their respective businesses may not be integrated successfully. It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of key Company employees or key CONSOL employees; the loss of customers, service providers, vendors or other business counterparties; the disruption of either company’s or both companies’ ongoing businesses; inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures and policies; potential unknown liabilities and unforeseen expenses, delays, or regulatory conditions associated with and following completion of the Merger; or higher-than-expected integration costs and an overall post-completion integration process that takes longer than originally anticipated.
In addition, at times the attention of certain members of either company’s or both companies’ management and resources may be focused on completion of the Merger and the integration of the businesses of the two companies and diverted from day-to-day business operations or other opportunities that may be beneficial, which may disrupt each company’s ongoing operations and the operations of the combined company.
Furthermore, if the Merger is completed, the board of directors and executive leadership of the combined company will consist of former directors from each of the Company and CONSOL and former executive officers from each of the Company and CONSOL, respectively. Combining the boards of directors and management teams of each company into a single board and a single management team could require the reconciliation of differing priorities and philosophies.
If the Merger is completed, the combined company may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of the Merger.
The success of the Merger, if it is completed, will depend, in part, on the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and cost savings from combining the Company’s and CONSOL’s businesses and operational synergies. The anticipated benefits and cost savings of the Merger may not be realized fully or at all, may take longer to realize than expected, may not be realized or could have other adverse effects that the Company does not currently foresee, in which case, among other things, the Merger may not be accretive to free cash flow and may not generate significant discretionary cash flow to return to stockholders via share buybacks or other means. Some of the assumptions that the Company has made, such as the achievement of the anticipated benefits related to the geographic, commodity and asset diversification and the expected size, scale, inventory and financial strength of the combined company, may not be realized if the Merger is completed. The integration process may result in the loss of key employees, the disruption of ongoing businesses or inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures and policies. In addition, there could be potential unknown liabilities and unforeseen expenses associated with the Merger that could adversely impact the combined company.
Item 2.Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
During the second quarter of 2022, our Board of Directors increased the remaining outstanding authorization for share repurchases to $500 million. In conjunction with announcement of the proposed merger with CONSOL, we have suspended share repurchases. No share repurchases were made in the three months ended September 30, 2024.
In the first nine months of 2024, we repurchased 189,068 shares at an average price of $162.62 per share for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $30.7 million. As of September 30, 2024, we had repurchased 12,385,695