The private equity owner of Ridgemar Energy is exploring a sale of the U.S. oil and gas producer that could value the company at more than $1 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Ridgemar, which is backed by Carnelian Energy Capital, is working with investment bankers at RBC Capital Markets on a sale process for its operations in the Eagle Ford Basin of South Texas, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential.
Potential buyers include publicly listed and privately owned energy producers, the sources added, cautioning that a deal is not guaranteed.
Carnelian, Ridgemar and RBC did not respond to requests for comment.
Private equity firms have been active sellers of energy assets in recent years, as higher commodity prices have helped them exit oil and gas investments profitably.
Earlier this year, energy-focused private equity firm EnCap Investments sold XCL Resources and Grayson Mill Energy to SM Energy and Devon Energy respectively. In July, Point Energy Partners, which is backed by Vortus Investments, sold its assets to Vital Energy and Northern Oil and Gas.
Houston, Texas-based Ridgemar is one of the top remaining private oil producers in the Eagle Ford. In 2023, Ridgemar acquired the Eagle Ford assets of Callon Petroleum for $655 million in cash and $45 million in potential contingent payments.
The company has since expanded its operations through smaller deals, adding about 17,000 net acres to boost its total holdings to more than 70,000 net acres in the western portion of the Eagle Ford, the sources said.
Ridgemar expects in 2025 production to average around 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with core earnings of more than $450 million, the sources added.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan and David French in New York Editing by Lisa Shumaker)