Warburg To Sell No Shares In Laredo IPO

Laredo Petroleum Holdings Inc. filed with U.S. securities regulators to raise up to $450 million in an initial public offering of its common shares, according to sister news service Reuters.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Laredo Petroleum, which is backed by buyout firm Warburg Pincus, said the firm would not be selling shares in the IPO and would continue to retain a “significant interest” in the company.

The company said JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo Securities would be underwriting the offering.

The Tulsa, Okla.-based company said that it will use the proceeds to repay debts under its senior secured credit facility, which totaled $500 million on Aug 19, and for future expansion and development.

The company, which is involved in exploration, development and acquisition of oil and natural gas in the Permian and Mid-Continent regions of the United States, plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “LPI.”

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filing is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO can be different.

(Satyanarayan Iyer is a correspondent for Reuters in Bangalore.)