Niska Gas Storage IPO Prices Low

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NKA.N) priced shares in its initial public offering at the bottom of the expected range on Tuesday, just days after an unexpected selloff in U.S. markets.

Niska sold 17.5 million shares for $20.50 each, raising about $358.75 million. It had planned to sell 17.5 million units for $20 to $22 each after raising the expected price range from $19 to $21 in April.

Some analysts had warned that last Thursday’s selloff — the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI lost nearly 1,000 points in what was its biggest ever intraday point loss — could shake investor confidence and close the window for new issues in the U.S.

Niska is the largest independent owner and operator of natural gas storage and assets in North America and owns facilities in Alberta, Canada, northern California and Oklahoma, according to a regulatory filing.

Funds affiliated with private equity firms The Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] and Riverstone Holdings will control Niska’s business operations after the IPO, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Niska said it would use proceeds from the offering to repay revolving credit and for general purposes.

Goldman Sachs & Co and Morgan Stanley led 11 underwriters on the offering. The shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the symbol “NKA.” (Reporting by Clare Baldwin, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)