Laredo Success

The interest level is unprecedented, Tim Perry, head of the Americas oil and gas investment banking practice at Credit Suisse, said at a recent conference. Take, for example, the shares sold March 2 by Laredo Petroleum Inc., a producer that specializes in drilling in the Permian Basin in West Texas.

The company initially sold $650 million in stock -- almost half its market capitalization -- in two hours without any advanced marketing, said Perry, whose firm worked for Laredo in the deal. Historically, an issuance of that magnitude would have been advertised to investors two to three days ahead of time, he said. Laredo has risen 32 percent in the six weeks since the offering.

“The markets are absolutely wide open,” Perry said. Investors who are buying may not be energy specialists, but they’re “very sophisticated,” he said. “Generalist investors do not have many good alternatives because everything is so expensive.”

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