LNG Terminal Operator Excelerate Raises $384 Million in U.S. IPO

(Bloomberg) — LNG terminal company Excelerate Energy Inc. priced its initial public offering at the top of a marketed range to raise $384 million in the biggest U.S. listing since January.

Excelerate, which operates floating offshore storage and re-gasification terminals, sold 16 million shares Tuesday for $24 each after marketing them for $21 to $24, according to a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News.

The listing comes at pivotal moment for LNG, with Germany and other European nations looking for alternatives to Russian natural gas supplies. Excelerate, based in The Woodlands, Texas, operates in the U.S., Brazil, Argentina, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The offering is the second-largest in the U.S. this year, topped only by private equity firm TPG Inc.’s $1.1 billion IPO on Jan. 12, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, excluding blank-check companies and closed-end funds. With at least 125 companies sitting on IPO registrations filed in the past six months and dozens more waiting on the sidelines as last year’s record run gave way to volatility, inflation and war, Excelerate’s success may prompt others to follow.

At the IPO price, Excelerate would have a market value of about $2.5 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. George Kaiser, who founded the company in 2003, will continue to control most of its shares after the listing, the filings show.

Excelerate had net income of $41 million on revenue of $889 million in 2021, compared with $31 million on revenue of $431 million the previous year, according to the filings.

The offering is being led by Barclays Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley. The company plans for its shares to begin trading Wednesday on the the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EE.