Oilfield company seeks $300M in IPO funds

Source Energy Services Inc., Canada’s largest distributor of high-quality fracking sand, is seeking to raise $300 million in its initial public offering as a revival in oil drilling boosts demand for its product.

The Calgary-based company is planning to price its shares at $17 to $20 apiece, implying a valuation of as much as $902 million at the top end of the range, according to a prospectus filed Thursday. Source is backed by Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners.

Bank of Nova Scotia, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of Montreal are leading the share sale, according to a regulatory filing. The banks have the option to buy more shares that could boost the proceeds to as much as $345 million if exercised.

Source is the second Canadian oilfield services firm to file for an IPO this year. STEP Energy Services Ltd. said this week it intends to raise $200 million in a share sale in March. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Raymond James Financial Inc. will be leading STEP Energy’s IPO.

The companies are aiming to capitalize on a turnaround in oilfield services as North America’s fracking industry begins to improve on higher crude prices. Hydraulic fracturing is a technique that blasts water, sand and chemicals underground to release trapped hydrocarbons.

Source said in the filing it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to pay for the acquisition of a new facility near Blair, Wis., pay down debt and other capital expenditures. The company supplies and distributes fracking sand and has operations in Western Canada, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Texas, according to its website.