HOUSTON, July 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WildFire
Energy I LLC ("WildFire", or the "Company"), an oil and gas
exploitation and production company headquartered in Houston, Texas, today announced that the
Company has signed a line of equity arrangement exceeding
$1 billion from management, funds
affiliated with Warburg Pincus LLC ("Warburg Pincus"), a leading
global private equity firm focused on growth investing, and the
Kayne Private Energy Income Funds ("Kayne
Anderson"), an investment platform dedicated to partnering
with high-caliber management teams to acquire and develop large
producing oil and gas assets in North
America.
WildFire is focused on the acquisition and development of oil
& gas assets with significant existing production and intends
to pursue onshore acquire-and-exploit opportunities throughout the
Lower 48. The Company's management will leverage its experience of
acquiring, optimizing and scaling assets that has proven to be
successful in prior ventures, including WildHorse Resource
Development (NYSE: WRD), Memorial Resource Development (NASDAQ:
MRD), and their private company predecessors.
WildFire is led by Chief Executive Officer Anthony Bahr and President and Chief Operating
Officer Steve Habachy, both of whom
are long-time veterans of the oil and gas industry. Mr. Bahr and
Mr. Habachy most recently served as President and Chief Operating
Officer, respectively, of WildHorse Resource Development, where the
team assembled a position of more than 400,000 net acres in the
liquids-rich core of the East Texas Eagle Ford play and increased
production from approximately 7,000 barrels of oil equivalent per
day to over 52,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day within two
years before closing a $4 billion
sale to Chesapeake Energy in February
2019. Mr. Bahr and Mr. Habachy are joined by several key
members of the WildHorse finance and operations team, including
Chief Financial Officer Drew
Cozby.
"Our business strategy is designed to rapidly achieve scale by
capitalizing on current market dynamics and acquiring assets
generating material cash flow today," said Anthony Bahr, Chief Executive Officer of
WildFire. "With backing from Warburg Pincus and Kayne Anderson, we will be well-positioned to
identify and develop sizable upstream and midstream assets where
the latest technology can unlock further value potential and
production optimization can improve cash flows," added Steve Habachy, President and Chief Operating
Officer.
"WildFire Energy's focus on targeting underdeveloped assets fits
perfectly with the opportunity set that we are seeing in the
market," said David Krieger,
Managing Director, Warburg Pincus. "We look forward to partnering
with WildFire Energy's exceptional management team to build their
next successful venture," added Danny
Weingeist, Managing Partner, Kayne
Anderson.
About WildFire Energy
WildFire Energy is an independent energy company focused on the
acquisition, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas
properties in the US through the application of modern technology
and production optimization. The company is led by CEO Anthony Bahr, the former President of WildHorse
Resource Development, and President & COO, Steve Habachy, former COO of WildHorse Resource
Development. WildFire Energy is funded by management, Warburg
Pincus and the Kayne Private Energy Income Funds platform.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm
focused on growth investing. The firm has more than $65 billion in private equity assets under
management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 185 companies
is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography. Warburg
Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to
build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966,
Warburg Pincus has raised 19 private equity funds, which have
invested more than $77 billion in
over 870 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is
headquartered in New York with
offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong
Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San
Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore. For more information please visit
www.warburgpincus.com.
About Kayne Anderson
Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., founded in 1984, is a
leading alternative investment management firm focused on energy,
infrastructure, real estate, credit, and growth equity. Kayne's
investment philosophy is to pursue niches, with an emphasis on cash
flow, where its knowledge and sourcing advantages enable it to
deliver above average, risk-adjusted investment returns. As
responsible stewards of capital, Kayne's philosophy extends to
promoting responsible investment practices and sustainable business
practices to create long-term value for its investors. Kayne
manages approximately $30 billion in
assets for institutional investors, family offices, high net worth
and retail clients and employs 350 professionals in five offices
across the U.S.
The Kayne Private Energy Income Funds platform is part of
Kayne's successful energy private equity practice that has raised
over $10 billion since 1998. The
strategy was formed in late 2014 to take advantage of the market
opportunity to acquire and develop large, long-life producing oil
and gas assets in North America.
For more information please visit www.kaynecapital.com.
Contact
Sarah McGrath,
Warburg Pincus
212-878-6378
Sarah.McGrath@warburgpincus.com
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SOURCE WildFire Energy I LLC