16 Million Laredo Petroleum Shares to Be Sold

Laredo Petroleum Holdings , along with certain affiliates of Warburg Pincus and members of the company's management team, are selling a combined total of 16 million shares of company stock in a public offering, the company announced today.

Of the 16 million shares, 3 million are being offered by company management and Warburg Pincus, and the remaining 13 million shares from Laredo Petroleum. Warburg Pincus Private Equity IX, L.P could drop its ownership to under 50% by offering 2.3 million shares for sale. Executive sellers include Randy A. Foutch, founder, chairman and CEO, and John E. Minton, senior vice president, reservoir engineering.

Laredo says it is expected that "certain of the selling stockholders" will grant the underwriters of the stock offering a 30-day option to purchase an additional 2.4 million additional shares, bringing the total number of shares to a possible 18.4 million.

Laredo intends to use proceeds from its portion of the stock sale (13 million shares) to fund its capital program, invest in exploration and development activities, and for general corporate purposes. As of this writing, Laredo shares are trading at $25.17. The company had 129.5 million shares of common stock outstanding as of Aug. 5.

The article 16 Million Laredo Petroleum Shares to Be Sold originally appeared on Fool.com.

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