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SEC ends probe of Chesapeake, ex-CEO McClendon; no action planned


    (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Wednesday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its probe against the company and its former chief executive Aubrey McClendon.

    The company said in a regulatory filing that the SEC's Fort Worth regional office advised the company last month that it had concluded its investigation and did not intend to recommend enforcement action. (http://r.reuters.com/guk29v)

    The SEC began its investigation in May 2012.

    McClendon, who co-founded Chesapeake in 1989, left the company in April last year after clashing over spending with the company's board and a series of Reuters investigations led to civil and criminal probes on the company.

    The company's shares touched their highest since October 2011 after it posted better-than-expected quarterly profit and hiked its production forecast earlier on Wednesday.

    Since leaving Chesapeake, McClendon has raised nearly $4 billion in cash and financing to invest in North American shale formations.

    He has also filed to raise up to $2 billion to buy and drill oil and gas properties within the United States through a partnership called American Energy Capital Partners LP.

    (Reporting by Anannya Pramanick in Bangalore; Editing by Eric Walsh)