OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Native Exploration Holdings, LLC (“Native” or the “Company”) announced today a partnership with Kayne Anderson Energy Funds (“Kayne Anderson”). Kayne Anderson and members of the Native management team have collectively made capital commitments in excess of $140 million to the Company.
Native is a newly formed independent oil and gas company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Company was founded by co-CEOs Lane Gibbs and Matt Whitaker (collectively, the “Founders”) to build upon the Founders’ successful track record of value creation in the Mid-Continent region. Prior to forming the Company, the Founders were highly active in the acquisition of leasehold, minerals and royalties – primarily in the SCOOP and STACK plays of Oklahoma – through their predecessor entity, Native Oil & Gas, LLC.
“The Native team is incredibly excited about the opportunity to partner with Kayne Anderson, and believes this venture will create a great opportunity for Native to continue to exploit its strategy in the Mid-Continent while delivering attractive rates of return,” co-CEOs Lane Gibbs and Matt Whitaker said. “With Kayne Anderson’s successful track record and financial strength, we look forward to a prosperous relationship.”
Chuck Yates, Managing Partner at Kayne Anderson, commented, “We are extremely pleased to partner with two talented entrepreneurs in Lane and Matt. Our investment in Native highlights our strategy of making commitments to proven management teams with excellent relationships and established track records, and we look forward to partnering alongside Native’s success.”
About Native
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Native will pursue acquisitions of oil and gas assets with scalable exploitation and development upside. The Company will consider opportunities in the Mid-Continent region, specifically in Oklahoma.
About Kayne Anderson
Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., (“Kayne”) founded in 1984, is a leading alternative investment management firm focused on niche investing in upstream oil and gas companies, energy and infrastructure, specialized real estate, middle market credit and growth equity. Kayne’s investment philosophy is to pursue niches, with an emphasis on cash flow, where knowledge and sourcing advantages enables them to deliver above average, risk-adjusted investment returns. Kayne manages $25.5 billion in assets (as of 6/30/2017) for institutional investors, family offices, high net worth and retail clients and employs over 300 professionals in eight offices across the U.S.
Through Kayne Anderson Energy Funds (“KAEF”), Kayne has raised over $6.3 billion of committed capital dedicated to energy private equity investments in primarily upstream and midstream oil and gas companies. Currently, KAEF has approximately 25 active portfolio companies focused on upstream and midstream oil and gas assets across North America.
Kayne is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Houston, New York City, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta and Boca Raton. For more information, please visit www.kaynecapital.com.
