Petroleum Development Corp (PETD)

[OilStockReport]

Denver oil and gas company PDC Energy says it raised combined proceeds of nearly a quarter-billion dollars from twin offerings of stock and notes.

The company plans to use the proceeds for acquisitions and drilling and to pay down debt.

PDC (NASDAQ: PETD) — officially known as Petroleum Development Corp. — said late Tuesday it raised $125.5 million in a common-stock offering at $32 a share, including the 3.6 million shares initially offered plus 540,000 shares through an the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

Wells Fargo Securities and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as joint book-running managers for the stock offering.

Also, the company said it closed Tuesday on the sale of 3.25 percent convertible senior notes due in 2016, raising a total of $111.2 million, including over-allotment options.

PDC’s share price has nearly doubled since the first of the year. Shares opened at $35.21 Wednesday.

Last week, PDC said it had signed agreements to buy three limited partnerships set up in 2005 for about $36.4 million. It already served as the managing general partner of the three partnerships.
The three partnerships collectively produce about 4 million cubic feet per day from oil and natural gas wells in the Wattenberg Field north of Denver and the Piceance Basin in western Colorado, PDC said.

The remaining partners who aren’t affiliated with PDC must approve the merger. PDC said it expects to close the purchases in the first quarter of 2011.

The move is a continuation of PDC’s efforts to shift from managing limited partnerships to managing its own oil and gas properties. In June, the company agreed to buy four other limited partnerships for about $36.5 million. In 2007, PDC bought 44 partnerships.
PDC said it plans to spend between $260 million and $300 million on capital expenditures in 2011 — figures that include the $36.4 million earmarked to purchase the three limited partnerships it plans to buy.

PDC was founded 41 years ago in Bridgeport, W. Va. It moved to Denver in March 2009.

As of July, its portfolio included 70,500 acres it leases in the high-potential Niobrara oil field in northern Colorado.


Read more: PDC Energy raises $237M through stock, notes offerings | Denver Business Journal