PE Energy Funds Are Facing Huge Losses
The energy sector’s plummet isn’t only hurting energy firms—energy-focused private equity funds are feeling the heat as well.
EnerVest, an investment firm that claims to operate more US oil and gas wells than any other company, is telling its investors they have two choices—they can either throw down hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster failing vehicles or risk losing billions, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“No question, this is a giant disappointment,” EnerVest CEO John Walker says. And the firm isn’t alone—struggling energy fund First Reserve Corp is negotiating with investors to prolong the life of a $7.8B fund in hopes that oil prices will rebound, something investors may be willing to do seeing as the fund is down over a third of its original value. [WSJ]
