HOUSTON: Private-equity firms that bet big on shale for more than a decade finally are seeing glimmers of hope that their investments will bear fruit.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co took analysts and investors by surprise with its US$6.4bil (RM26.45bil) deal to buy DoublePoint Energy LLC, a Permian shale powerhouse backed by Apollo Global Management Inc, Quantum Energy Partners, Magnetar Capital and Blackstone Credit. It’s the largest acquisition of a closely held oil company since 2011.
Big funds were among the most-acquisitive suitors in North American shale fields such as the Permian Basin, planning to flip their holdings to giant public companies for quick profits.
But the strategy collapsed as debt-fuelled drillers contributed to a global crude glut, oil markets shuddered and would-be buyers of private equity-backed explorers turned their backs.
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