MEXICO CITY: Vista Oil & Gas, with backing from private equity firm Riverstone Capital, will launch an initial public offering (IPO) on Mexico's stock exchange on Aug. 11, according to three sources with knowledge of the deal and a document seen by Reuters.
The IPO would mark the entry into Mexico's stock exchange of the country's first publicly traded oil company, four years after a landmark constitutional oil reform ended the decades-long monopoly enjoyed by national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, better known as Pemex.
A Vista spokesperson did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment.
Riverstone is also a major investor in privately held Sierra Oil & Gas, launched in 2014, the first Mexican oil company formed since the reform.
The Vista debut, the first special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) in Mexico, plans to raise at least $500 million by offering 50 million Series A "units" valued at about $10 per unit, according to the prospectus.
SPACs are publicly traded buyout companies that raise funds through an IPO with the goal of later completing acquisitions. They are commonly used in non-conventional oil and gas projects in the United States.
A two-week investor roadshow for Vista kicked off on Monday in New York, and will move on to Toronto, London and Boston, according to the document.
The Vista management team includes former executives of Argentina's national oil company YPF including that company's ex-CEO Miguel Galuccio.
The company's acquisition targets range from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.
Energy infrastructure company IEnova, a unit of US firm Sempra Energy, has traded on the Mexican stock exchange since 2103, but is not involved in exploration or production activities.
Mexican conglomerates Alfa and Grupo Bal are also both listed and have oil and gas units, but investors can not directly invest in those units.
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