Venture Global LNG raises $1.75 billion after pricing US IPO

(Reuters) -Venture Global LNG has raised $1.75 billion after pricing its U.S. initial public offering, the second-largest exporter of liquefied in the United States said on Thursday.

The company priced its offering of 70 million shares at $25 each, a day after cutting the price range to between $23 and $27 apiece and increasing the shares on offer.

The company had initially set a target of selling 50 million shares for $40 to $46 each to raise as much as $2.3 billion for a valuation of $110 billion.

Venture Global was forced to nearly halve the valuation it was seeking after investors balked at its estimated long-term profit for liquefying gas for export, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The flotation, the first big IPO under the second term of President Donald Trump, is also a bet on the incoming administration’s agenda to boost energy production.

Trump had promised to maximize U.S. oil and natural gas production in part by clearing away what he deems as unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy.

He signed an executive order on his first day to end a moratorium on new LNG export permits, which clears an obstacle to Venture Global’s expansion plan. He has also said he wants to see European companies buy more U.S. LNG.