Vital Energy Inc (VTLE)

[ChitForBrains]

NEW YORK (TheStreet -- Private equity firms have a reputation, just or not, for unloading investments on the public in hyped-up IPOs but that doesn't look like the case when it comes to Laredo Petroleum( $LPI ).

The company, which is 93%-owned by Warburg Pincus, is seeking to raise $332.5 million through the sale of 17.5 million shares at $18-$20 each. The deal is one of the few PE-backed energy plays that Francis Gaskins, the president of IPO Desktop, likes.

Laredo is an independent energy company based primarily in the Permian Basis in West Texas and the Anadarko Granite Wash in the Panhandle in Texas and Western Oklahoma.

Revenue more than doubled to $371.3 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30 from $157.1 million in the year-ago equivalent period, while net income jumped to $104 million from $51.2 million.

More tellingly, the shareholders are only selling 14% of the stock in the offering. The proceeds will be mainly used to pay down its credit line. Laredo has drilled more than 660 vertical wells, but the real growth looks to be in the horizontal program. The increase in horizontal drilling may add significant production and reserves.
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