Venture Global LNG will begin formally pitching investors next week for its highly anticipated initial public offering, with the second-largest U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas aiming to secure a non-diluted valuation of as much as $110 billion, a document seen by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
It could be the first major share offering to occur during the second administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who promised on the campaign trail to overturn President Joe Biden’s year-long halt of green-lighting new LNG export licenses.
The company plans to ask investors to pay between $40 and $46 per share when it begins marketing its New York Stock Exchange flotation on Monday, the source said and the document showed.
The preliminary price range, which has not been previously reported, would value the company at $96 billion to $110 billion on a non-diluted basis, which does not include securities such as options and restricted stock units. The 50-million-share offering would bring in between $2 billion and $2.3 billion.
The source noted Venture Global’s final IPO price was dependent upon investor demand and could ultimately fall outside of the range, and cautioned the IPO timing was dependent on market conditions.
Venture Global was not immediately available for comment.
Should the Arlington, Virginia-based company launch its IPO meetings next week, it would likely price its offering during the middle of the week of Jan. 20, the source said.
Dealmakers anticipate a resurgence in global equity capital market activity this year.
Venture Global, founded in 2013 by current co-chairs Michael Sabel and Robert Pender, exports LNG through a process in which gas is cooled into a liquid form for transportation and then exported from the U.S., mainly to Europe and Asia.
The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of the superchilled gas and has played a crucial role in providing energy to Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. LNG capacity is expected to more than double between 2024 and 2028, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Venture Global operates a 10 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) facility at Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, that has been exporting LNG since 2022.
The facility is still being commissioned – the testing and optimizing before commercial operation. The lengthy process has been subject to a legal challenge from customers including Shell, BP and Edison, over the non-receipt of contracted cargoes.
On Dec. 26, its 20 MTPA export facility, Plaquemines, exported its first cargo of the superchilled gas, making it the first new LNG plant to begin operations in the U.S. since 2022.
(Reporting by Echo Wang and David French in New York, and Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Peter Henderson and Christopher Cushing)