Liquefied Natural Gas Exporter Venture Global Raises $1.75 Billion in IPO
Venture Global, the second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the United States, has raised $1.75 billion in its initial public offering (IPO). The company, which is backed by President Donald Trump’s plan to boost U.S. energy production, had initially set a target of raising $2.3 billion, but was forced to nearly halve its valuation after investors balked at its estimates for long-term profit for exports.
The company sold 70 million shares at $25 each, within a revised range of $23 to $27 apiece, and increased the number of shares on offer. Venture Global’s IPO is the first big IPO of Trump’s second term and marks a strong start to the year for IPOs, buoyed by interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve and expectations of deregulation and corporate tax reductions under the Trump administration.
Venture Global has five LNG projects in various stages of development near the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana and expects to have total peak production of 143.8 million tonnes a year. The company’s offering extends a trend of strong demand for U.S. LNG, with developers such as Venture Global building terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast to liquefy and ship the gas, turning the United States into the world’s top LNG exporter.
Despite facing contract arbitration cases brought by some of the world’s top oil and gas producers, including BP, Shell, and Repsol, Venture Global’s market value is on track to surpass rival Cheniere Energy, currently the largest U.S. LNG exporter with a market value of around $52.36 billion.
Venture Global will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker symbol “VG” and is being underwritten by a syndicate of Wall Street banks led by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and BofA Securities.
