Chesapeake Energy Shareholders: Meet Your Would-Be Savior

Meanwhile, in Chesapeake Energy's first quarter earnings, the oil and gas company reported a top and bottom line miss, but those weren't even the major issues for investors who sent the company's shares down by 14.5% on Wednesday. The company's spending guidance rose while its cash flow guidance declined, adecade-low natural gas pricing continues to heighten its liquidity risk, and the company's all-important liquids production guidance decreased while its natural gas production guidance went up.

"We believe that increased spending, coupled with a diminished discretionary cash flow outlook from less liquids revenue Updated guidance calls for $2.7-$3B in '12, well below prior guidance of $4.5-$5.2B, increases liquidity risk if gas prices do not meaningfully recover from the current level," wrote Tim Rezvan, Sterne Agee analyst, on Wednesday.

On an analyst call Wednesday, CEO McClendon said that it needs gas prices to rise to $5 a thousand cubic feet by 2014 from present levels near $2 if it were to meet its goal of having $7 billion in cash. In a meantime, the company will look to sell $20 billion in assets to pay down debts and repair its finances.

Chesapeake shares closed at a 52-week low. The drop puts shares down nearly 25% and 50% in 2012 and the past 12 months, respectively. Since the start of 2011, the value of Southeastern Asset Management's Chesapeake Energy stake has fallen from above $2 billion to just above $1.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.

"I'm deeply sorry for all of the distractions of the past two weeks," said McClendon, who co-founded Chesapeake in 1989, on an analyst call Wednesday.

Hawkin's fund, which counts Dell (DELL) , Chesapeake Energy, Loews (L) , DirecTV (DTV) and Disney (DIS) as its five biggest holdings among 13 investments over $1 billion, according to Bloomberg data, has been involved in recent hotly contested corporate moves like Martin Marietta's (MLM) $5 billion offer for Vulcan Materials (VMC) . Vulcan has voted against the offer and is moving to slow the bid in courts so ahead of its June 1 shareholder meeting, where a hostile slate of Martin Marietta directors will seek board seats.