(Bloomberg) — Continental Resources Inc. plunged as much as 44% after founder and majority owner Harold Hamm distributed shares to family members, slashing his stake in the shale driller by more than two-thirds.
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Hamm, the Oklahoma wildcatter who helped usher in the shale-oil breakthroughs that made him a billionaire, held more than 81% of Continental’s outstanding shares prior to Wednesday’s filing that disclosed his stake has shrunk to about 24%.
The distribution was done for estate-planning purposes, according to the filing. As a result, five Hamm children each now have in their names about $2.3 billion in Continental stock.
The documents also disclosed that family members had entered into a shareholders agreement that imposed limits on their ability to transact in Continental stock and requires them to vote as a group if the 76-year-old Hamm…
