Kayne Anderson and members of the Native management team have collectively made capital commitments in excess of $140 million to the company, Native Exploration said in a statement.
Native was founded by co-CEOs Lane Gibbs and Matt Whitaker with a focus in the Mid-Continent region, and the company is looking at opportunities in Oklahoma, specifically. Previously the Native 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 company said.
“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,” Gibbs and Whitaker said in a statement. “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.”
Kayne Anderson Energy Funds have raised over $6.3 billion of committed capital dedicated to energy private equity investments in primarily upstream and midstream oil and gas companies.
Kayne Anderson will be a participant in a private equity panel that also includes Tailwater Capital and OFS Energy Fund at the upcoming EnerCom The Oil & Gas Conference® Aug. 13-17, 2017 at the Denver Downtown Westin Hotel. To register for the EnerCom conference please visit the conference website.
