Apollo Proposes to Legacy Reserves

Apollo Investment Management has made a $14 per share offer valued at $435 million for Legacy Reserves (NASDAQ, LGCY), an oil and natural gas limited partnership. The company focuses on the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin and Mid-continent regions of the US. If the company's board approves the acquisition, Legacy's management, which holds a 21% stake, intends to support the deal and invest alongside Apollo.

Private equity firms have invested in 19 other companies operating in the oil and natural gas rich Permian Basin located in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, according to the PitchBook Data. The most popular of such investments have been energy exploration companies. The most active investors were American Capital and Natural Gas Partners, each with three investments. Apollo's acquisition of Legacy would be the largest PE investment in the area, beating out Warburg Pincus's $274 million acquisition of some of ConocoPhillips' Texas and Louisiana assets in 2004.