Following a $240-million deal in which Gastar Exploration Ltd., Houston, (NYSE Amex: GST; Toronto: YGA) will sell all of its Australian interests to Santos Ltd. (Australia: STO) and effectively pay off all of its debt, thereby turning around an impending going-concern crisis, the company will implement a 1-for-5 reverse share consolidation.

The consolidation was authorized by its shareholders in June 2008, and as a result, Gastar would have approximately 49.6 million basic common shares outstanding. The share consolidation is expected to be effected on or about July 31.

Additionally, Gastar has also elected to voluntarily de-list its shares from the Toronto Stock Exchange, which represents less than 1% of total daily trading of Gastar common shares. The company says trading on two exchanges has become “unduly costly and burdensome” without providing any significant additional liquidity for its shareholders.

"The consolidation of the number of outstanding shares and the de-listing from the Toronto Stock Exchange are actions we have wanted to take for some time," says J. Russell Porter, Gastar president and chief executive. "We believe that the consummation of these actions, on the back of this transformative de-leveraging of the company, will benefit our shareholders in numerous ways in the future."