Sheridan Production Partners raises $1.5 bln for third PE fund

Houston-based Sheridan Production Partners has closed its third private equity fund at $1.5 billion. The pool will focus on acquiring onshore U.S. producing and gas assets.

PRESS RELEASE

HOUSTON–(Business Wire)–Sheridan Production Partners today announced that it has raised $1.5 billion in equity commitments through its third fund, Sheridan Production Partners III, to acquire onshore U.S. producing oil and gas properties. Including the latest offering, Sheridan has raised a total of approximately $4.6 billion in equity commitments through private placements of three series of investment vehicles since the company’s formation in 2006. The Sheridan Fund III investors include long-time Sheridan Limited Partners as well as new investors making their first commitment to Sheridan.

“We are excited to be in the acquisition market with a $1.5 billion equity war chest at this particular time,” said Sheridan founder and Chairman Lisa Stewart. “Declining petroleum prices create opportunities for Sheridan as companies seeking to pay down debt sell mature properties with predictable production that fit our successful business strategy: optimizing assets through operational improvements and cost savings, hedging the production for several years and enhancing returns through prudent leverage.” Stewart added, “We view the strong support of our investors in this very successful fundraise as an important re-affirmation of our strategy.”

Stewart said Sheridan will continue to focus on transactions in the Mid-Continent area, primarily in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Wyoming, that complement the company’s existing assets. “We have a proven track record of closing transactions expeditiously, even during periods of turbulent commodity prices and limited capital markets access,” Stewart said.

Sheridan Production Partners III is under common management with Sheridan’s previous two funds and has a similar investment strategy. The earlier oil and gas partnerships have closed eight acquisitions for an aggregate purchase price of $5.2 billion, employing a combination of equity commitments and debt financing.

About Sheridan
Sheridan Production Partners (www.sheridanproduction.com) is a Houston-based oil and gas operating company dedicated to building a balanced portfolio of mature properties across diverse onshore basins in the United States. Established and operated by a proven and talented management team, Sheridan acquires mature assets and operates them to enhance recovery through capital reinvestment while focusing on cost control. Its strategy is to build value at the field level in order to maximize overall investor returns. The company’s four districts, staffed by over 450 employees, currently produce approximately 34,000 barrels equivalent per day net to the company, of which 97 percent is operated by Sheridan.

Sheridan was established in 2006 by Sheridan management and Warburg Pincus (www.warburgpincus.com), a leading private equity investor since 1971 and one of the preeminent private equity investors in upstream energy.