Northern Blizzard seeks $500M in July IPO, sources say

Northern Blizzard Resources Inc. and two of its private-equity investors are seeking to raise about $500 million in an initial public offering this month, according to two people familiar with the sale.

The Calgary-based oil company plans to raise about $350 million, while New York-based Riverstone Holdings LLC and Irving,

Texas-based NGP Energy Capital

Management LLC seek to sell $150 million of stock through the IPO, said the people, who asked not to be identified because terms aren’t public.

Northern Blizzard is a production and development company focused on maximizing recovery from its large-scale heavy oil resource base, according to a June 27 filing with Canadian regulators. Its operations are focused on the Kerrobert and Lloydminster areas of Saskatchewan.

The sale is being led by CIBC, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and TD Bank.

The IPO is expected to be priced the week of July 28.

Northern Blizzard hired Royal Bank last year to find a buyer, people familiar with the sale said in November. At the time, they said a sale could fetch about $1 billion US and draw interest from mid-sized Chinese oil producers eager to gain assets overseas.

Northern Blizzard chief executive John Rooney didn’t immediately return a phone message left before office hours in Calgary Wednesday. James David, an outside spokesman for Riverstone, declined to comment. A phone message left with NGP wasn’t immediately returned.