• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Natural Gas Partners Announces Sale of Interest in Energy Transfer

Posted on: Monday, 7 May 2007, 21:00 CDT

Natural Gas Partners, a leading investment firm in the energy industry, announced today that it has sold approximately 55 percent of its ownership stake in Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (NYSE:ETE) and the majority of its equity interests in LE GP, L.L.C., the general partner of ETE, to Enterprise GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:EPE) for a total purchase price of over $744 million, reflecting a per unit share price of $42.

The sale by NGP was made in conjunction with EPE's purchase of ETE units and a minority interest in LE GP, LLC from Mr. Ray Davis, the Co-Chairman of ETE. Mr. Davis will continue to own approximately one half of his original holdings in ETE after the transaction. Both NGP and Mr. Davis have each entered into lock-up agreements with respect to their remaining ownership stakes.

Natural Gas Partners VI, L.P. together with Mr. Davis and Kelcy Warren, Co-Chairman of ETE, made their investment in Energy Transfer in October of 2002 in connection with the creation of a new private company to acquire a $265 million package of midstream assets from Aquila. Through a combination with Heritage Propane Partners, several major acquisitions and numerous organic growth projects, Ray Davis and Kelcy Warren have grown Energy Transfer during the past five years from a small private company into the third largest publicly-traded midstream MLP.

Kenneth A. Hersh, CEO of NGP Energy Capital Management stated, "While we are pleased to have obtained partial liquidity for our investment in ETE at an attractive price, we are equally excited about the continued growth prospects for ETE and ETP. Management has demonstrated an unparalleled record of creating value for its unitholders and we will continue to be a significant owner and supporter of the companies."

About Natural Gas Partners

Founded in 1988, the Natural Gas Partners private equity fund complex is a family of funds with over $3 billion of total capital under management since inception. The funds invest private equity capital in various sectors of the energy industry, including oil and gas production, midstream and oilfield service companies and co-invest in direct oil and gas property interests alongside portfolio companies.

Natural Gas Partners is managed by Irving, Texas-based NGP Energy Capital Management, the premier investment franchise in the energy industry. In addition to the Natural Gas Partners fund complex, NGP's $4.2 billion investment platform includes NGP Capital Resources Company (NASDAQ: "NGPC"), a publicly-traded business development company that focuses on providing senior debt and mezzanine capital to the energy industry, NGP Energy Technology Partners, L.P., a private equity fund that invests growth equity capital in companies providing technology-related products and services to the oil and gas, power and alternative energy sectors and NGP Midstream & Resources, L.P., a private equity fund that makes direct investments in selected areas of the energy infrastructure and natural resources sectors.

Natural Gas Partners may be contacted at (972) 432-1440 or www.naturalgaspartners.com.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (NYSE:ETE) owns the general partner of Energy Transfer Partners and approximately 62.5 million ETP limited partner units. Together ETP and ETE have a combined enterprise value of approximately $20 billion.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE:ETP) is a publicly traded partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of midstream energy assets. ETP's natural gas operations include intrastate natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, natural gas treating and processing assets located in Texas and Louisiana, and three natural gas storage facilities located in Texas. These assets include approximately 12,200 miles of intrastate pipeline in service, with an additional 400 miles of intrastate pipeline under construction, and 2,400 miles of interstate pipeline. ETP is also one of the three largest retail marketers of propane in the U.S., serving more than one million customers across the country.

Additional information about Energy Transfer is available at www.energytransfer.com

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category