UK Energy Explorer Waldorf Seeks Up to $2 Billion for M&A

(Bloomberg) -- Waldorf Production, a prolific buyer of oil and gas exploration assets in the North Sea, is seeking to raise as much as $2 billion to help bankroll more deals, people with knowledge of the matter said. 

The British company is working with advisers to set up a vehicle that will raise capital from outside investors and make acquisitions, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It has has approached a number of hedge funds and specialist energy investors to gauge their interest in participating, the people said. 

Waldorf, led by Chief Executive Officer Erik Brodahl, arrived on the North Sea scene when it bought Endeavour Energy UK for an undisclosed sum in 2019. It’s since been involved in deals including the acquisitions of Hungarian refiner Mol Nyrt.’s UK upstream assets, and the Dutch assets of North Sea oil and gas producer Dana Petroleum and Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. 

Deliberations are ongoing, and details of the planned fundraising could still change, the people said. A representative for Waldorf declined to comment. 

Financial investors like hedge funds and private equity firms are backing producers of oil and gas as conventional lenders cut their funding to the sector. Waldorf is among several smaller companies seeking to acquire North Sea assets being sold by larger energy players, who are seeking to offload oil and gas exploration projects to raise money for renewable investments. 

In October, the UK opened up its latest licensing round to develop offshore areas for natural gas and oil production in an effort to ease the energy-supply crunch. The government’s North Sea Transition Authority will take applications to explore areas that could lead to more than 100 licenses.

(Adds detail on UK licensing in final paragraph.)

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