Yuma Energy IPO to raise up to $140m

Yuma Energy Inc, the Texas oil explorer and producer, plans to raise between $110 million and $140 million in an initial public offering.

Houston-based Yuma, currently 65 per cent owned by founder and chief executive Sam Banks, plans to sell $85 million worth of new shares and between $25 million to $55 million of existing shares.

A book build is scheduled for November 25, when the IPO will be priced.

A prospectus will be issued after November 25 and Yuma’s shares are scheduled to begin trading on December 13 on the ASX.

Yuma has an estimated enterprise value of about US$10.80 to about US$12.60 per barrel of proven oil reserves. The company, which operates mainly in Texas and Louisiana, produces about 2,500 barrels of oil a day.

Deutsche Bank AG, the IPO’s sole lead manager, has been introducing company management to fund managers in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane this week. Next week the investment bank and Yuma executives will visit investors in Hong Kong and Singapore.      

Banks decided to list Yuma in Australia where there may be more potential for it to attract institutional investors than in the US, where some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies are listed.

The sale of existing Yuma shares may reduce Banks’ stake in the company to less than 50 per cent.

Yuma is using the funds from the IPO to drill between existing oil wells in an area known as Austin Chalk, a region of oil fields that are located mainly in Louisiana.