"Venture Global (VG.US) plans to raise $2.3 billion for the largest IPO in the U.S. energy sector in 11 years."

Venture Global Inc., headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, plans to raise $2.3 billion through its initial public offering (IPO), which would be the largest IPO for a U.S. energy company since 2013. According to the filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, the company plans to issue 50 million shares of stock at a price range of $40 to $46 per share. The underwriters for this offering include Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan, and Bank of America. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol "VG." At the upper end of the price range, this offering would give Venture Global a market value of $110 billion, making it the largest IPO in the U.S. energy sector since Plains GP Holdings LP raised $2.9 billion in 2013. This listing is expected to further boost the recovery of the U.S. IPO market. Bloomberg data shows that last year, IPOs in the U.S. raised nearly $43 billion, a 64% increase from 2023's total. However, this figure is still lower than the average level of the past decade before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the filing, Venture Global generated a net income of $756 million and revenue of $3.4 billion in the nine months ending September 30, compared to a net income of $3.6 billion and revenue of $6.3 billion for the same period in 2023. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to become a significant part of the global energy market in the coming years. As countries seek cleaner energy alternatives to oil and coal, the U.S. position as the world's largest LNG supplier is expected to strengthen. With Trump back in the White House, he may push for relaxed regulations to make the construction of LNG export terminals more convenient. Since 2022, Venture Global has been exporting natural gas from its Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana, and in December last year, it shipped its first cargo from the Plaquemines LNG facility near New Orleans. With the full operation of the Plaquemines project, Venture Global will be the second-largest LNG producer in the U.S. after Cheniere Energy Inc. Unlike some of its competitors, Venture Global is aiming to build a more integrated supply chain. According to company documents, it has obtained capacity permits at facilities in the UK and Greece for regasifying LNG and delivering it to end-users. This strategy is expected to help the company expand its market share. However, the company faces arbitration claims totaling up to $5.9 billion from eight companies, including some oil giants. According to Bloomberg News, these claims allege that Venture Global failed to provide natural gas from the Calcasieu Pass facility to customers who had signed long-term contracts. In response, a company spokesperson stated that these cases have no contractual or legal basis. According to the filing, Class A shares of the company have one vote per share, while founders Robert Pender and Michael Sabel hold control of the company through Class B shares, which have 10 votes per share.