March 28, 2024

DealBook: Rothschild’s Vallares Readies to Make Big Deal

Nathaniel RothschildFinsbury Ltd., Via Via BloombergNathaniel Rothschild

LONDON – Nathaniel Rothschild said he planned to make a large takeover within the next five months through his latest investment venture, Vallares, which had a successful initial public offering here on Friday.

A Swiss-based financier and former co-chairman of Atticus Capital, Mr. Rothschild said there were plenty of opportunities in the oil and gas market and that Vallares would be able to move quickly. Mr. Rothschild co-founded Vallares with BP’s former chief executive, Tony Hayward; Julian Metherell, a senior Goldman Sachs banker; and an investor, Tom Daniel.

“We have a number of deals in mind already,” Mr. Rothschild said in a telephone interview on Friday. “It’s an excellent time to buy.”

Vallares raised 1.35 billion pounds, or $2.18 billion, in an I.P.O., beating its own target of 1 billion pounds. The founders together bought 80 million pounds of shares. Vallares plans to use the shares to acquire assets in the energy industry in Russia, the former Soviet states, the Middle East or other emerging markets worth as much as 8 billion pounds, it said.

Mr. Rothschild said that demand for the shares in the investment vehicle “surpassed our expectations” and that “it’s been an extremely quick and seamless process,” which he partly attributed to Mr. Hayward’s “strong following in the investment community.” The majority of the investors are institutions from the United States, London and Scotland, followed by some hedge funds.

Vallares has two years to find a takeover deal or it would need to repay investors, Mr. Rothschild said. “We cover all expenses in the case there is no transaction,” he said.

The investment group could move faster than other publicly listed companies because it does not have to seek shareholder approval for takeovers, Mr. Rothschild said. But any acquisition has to be approved by Vallares’ board, which evaluates opportunities based on whether they would create returns for investors.

Mr. Rothschild said Vallares’ structure — its board, investors and its listing on the London stock exchange — makes the company attractive for potential partners. He also said that Vallares is unlikely to compete with private equity firms for assets.

“The oil and gas industry is not an area that works well for private equity,” he said.

Mr. Rothschild is hoping to emulate the success of his previous investment venture, Vallar, which raised 707 million pounds in a 2010 offering and acquired an Indonesian coal business in the same year. Since then, its shares have climbed 19 percent.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=023d81107fa8d05f76ba970040a2470f

Speak Your Mind