Former Management Team Of Augustus Energy Partners Announces The Formation Of A New Upstream Entity And Private Equity Commitment

BILLINGS, Mont., Jan. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 20, 2013, the former management team of Augustus Energy Partners, LLC ("Augustus I") has formed a new upstream energy company, Augustus Energy Partners II, LLC ("Augustus II" or the "Company"). Augustus II will be led by Steven D. Durrett, the Company's founder, President and CEO. He will be joined by certain other executives that were also part of the management teams at Augustus I and United States Exploration, Inc. These individuals include: Kenneth J. Meister (Vice President – Engineering), Bob Fisher (Vice President – Geology), Duane Zimmerman (Vice President – Operations), Lou Ann Carlson (Vice President – Administration) and Jeff Appelt (Controller).  

Additionally, Augustus II announced that, simultaneously with its formation, the Company closed a new $96.7 million institutional private equity commitment with Lime Rock Partners, Wells Fargo Energy Capital, and Rivington Capital Partners, LLC (a subsidiary of Rivington Holdings, LLC).  "We are very excited about partnering again with Lime Rock and Rivington and we welcome the addition of Wells Fargo into this new venture. The strong financial commitment and broad industry experience of our partners will provide us with the ability to actively pursue opportunities currently in the market," commented Durrett. 

Augustus II is headquartered in Billings, Montana and plans on implementing a two tiered strategy focusing on leasing & drilling as well as acquisitions of producing properties in the Rocky Mountain region. 

About Lime Rock
Established in 1998, Lime Rock Management has raised $5.5 billion in private equity funds for investment in the energy industry through Lime Rock Partners, investors of growth capital in E&P and oilfield services companies worldwide, and Lime Rock Resources, acquirers and operators of oil and gas properties in the United States.   For more information, please visit www.lrpartners.com.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.5 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank's customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune's 2013 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially.  Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at blogs.wellsfargo.com.

About Rivington Holdings, LLC
Rivington Holdings, LLC is an investment banking boutique specializing in private capital and mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions for the small and mid-cap energy sectors.  Founded in 2002, the firm has successfully closed 75 private capital and M&A transactions with total consideration exceeding $4.8 billion.  Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rivington Capital Partners, LLC, the firm makes private equity investments in the small cap, upstream energy sector.

LEGAL DISCLOSURE: Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, particularly any express or implied statements concerning future financial condition or operating results.  Although Augustus Energy Partners II, LLC believes that the expectations reflected herein are reasonable, the matters discussed in this release involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may delay, prevent or adversely affect the transaction or its planned activities and operations.  There can be no assurance that such expectations will prove correct.  All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE Augustus Energy Partners II, LLC