Bonanza Creek Energy Share IPO Prices At $17, Below Range dec 15 2011

Bonanza Creek Energy Share IPO Prices At $17, Below Range dec 15 2011 : Bonanza Creek Energy Inc.'s initial public offering of 10 million shares priced at $17 each Thursday, well short of the expected price range of $20 to $22 a piece. The independent oil-and-natural-gas company earlier this month said it intended to offer about 14.3 million shares, with roughly 4.8 million being offered by current holders. The company originally registered for an estimated $200 million IPO in June.

Bonanza Creek's assets and operations are concentrated in southern Arkansas and in the Denver Julesburg and North Park basins in Colorado, although it also owns and operates oil-producing assets in the San Joaquin Basin of California.

Among the selling holders: Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch of the U.K. and Canada -- and, by extension, the province of Alberta. She holds shares in her own capacity and also as a trustee or nominee for Alberta pension clients of the institutional investment fund manager Alberta Investment Management Corp., also known as AIMCo.

Bonanza Creek's prospectus says the queen would offer 1.7 million shares, which would cut the stake to about 15% from 26%. The company's other selling holder, West Face Capital's affiliate Project Black Bear LP, is offering 3.1 million shares, reducing its stake to about 41% from 73%.

Bonanza Creek Energy Inc.'s predecessor company was called Bonanza Creek Energy Co. The successor company was formed late last year to assume the predecessor's debt in exchange for a 22% stake in the new Bonanza Creek. That transaction also included a $265 million cash infusion from West Face Capital's Black Bear and clients of AIMCo in exchange for a 73% stake. From that infusion, Bonanza Creek bought oil-and-natural-gas company Holmes Eastern Company LLC -- and its properties in the Denver-Julesburg and Arkansas basins -- for $59 million in cash as well as common stock.

The predecessor company swung to a profit in 2010 from a loss the prior year due to a rebound in revenue. The last year's results excluded the final week of the year because of the transaction that formed the current Bonanza Creek Energy.

After the offering, the company will have roughly 40 million shares outstanding. It has been approved for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol BCEI.

The IPO market is set to be lively this week, with 11 companies slated to go public before activity slows for the holidays. However, one of those companies, Luxfer Holdings PLC, postponed its IPO earlier Wednesday because of market conditions. For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

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