Excelerate Energy breaks Ukraine-driven US IPO drought, raises US$384m

[NEW YORK] Excelerate Energy, a provider of floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals owned by energy tycoon George Kaiser, raised US$384 million on Tuesday (Apr 12) in the first major US initial public offering (IPO) since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

The war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a special military operation, sent shockwaves through financial markets, prompting most companies to postpone their IPO plans. Volatility subsided during March but remains elevated.

Investment bankers say IPOs are hard to price when the Cboe Volatility Index, known as Wall Street's "fear gauge", stands above 20. It is currently hovering just below 25, but Excelerate's offering benefited from the war boosting energy prices and driving up demand for LNG.

Excelerate sold 16 million shares on Tuesday at US$24 each, the company said. It had previously indicated it would price its shares at US$21 to US$24. The IPO values Excelerate at about US$2.5 billion.

US investors have snapped up shares of companies with LNG exposure since the invasion, betting they will benefit from Western sanctions on Russia, which supplies Europe with 30-40 per cent of its gas.

Only 22 companies have gone public in the US so far this year excluding SPAC IPOs, compared with 106 during the same time period last year, according to data provider Refinitiv.

Texas-based Excelerate, founded by Kaiser in 2003, owns and operates 10 floating storage and regasification units, or FSRUs, according to its website.

It operates in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Excelerate generated about 40 per cent of its revenue from the Americas last year, followed by Asia Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa. Since the war, it has had more inquiries from countries traditionally dependent on Russian gas imports, it said in an updated filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last week.

Kaiser will indirectly hold a majority of the voting power in Excelerate after the offering, through the ownership of majority shareholder EE Holdings' Class B common stock.

Excelerate expects to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "EE". Barclays, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters of the offering. REUTERS