3i and ArcLight back oil and gas company

ArcLight Capital Partners has joined 3i’s growth capital division in the latest funding round for UK listed Venture Production, as buyout firms continue to target the oil and gas sector.

UK-listed 3i has made a growth capital investment of over $100 million (€74 million) in UK-listed oil and gas company Venture Production, alongside ArcLight.

ArcLight Capital Partners, an investment firm that speciliases in the electric industry, also participated in the funding round. The size of its investment was not disclosed.

3i originally acquired a small stake in Venture Production when the oil and gas company bought CH4 last year.

A spokesperson for the group said: “After we acquired the 2-3 percent stake we saw a big opportunity in the north-east of England and we decided to increase this to around 10 percent.”

The deal will also lead to the appointment of two new non-executive directors to Venture Production’s board: 3i’s Graeme Sword and Robb Turner, co-founder of ArcLight.

The funding round comes as the company’s shareholders approved £151 million of convertible bond financing.

The deal is a latest in a string of oil and gas investments by private equity firms in recent years. Last week Warburg Pincus led a $1 billion investment in Antero Resources, alongside Lehman Brothers and Yorktown Energy Partners.

3i’s oil, gas and power team now has a portfolio of $1 billion in the UK, Norway, USA and Singapore.