Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Lee Schafer column [Star Tribune (Minneapolis)]
By Lee Schafer, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
And no institutional investor seems more conservative than a Lutheran life insurer.
But MBI Energy Services of
If Lutheran life insurers have jumped in, that should remove any remaining suspicions that the Bakken is maybe best left to speculators and opportunists.
This is not a new deal, either. Thrivent and its partners, including the
Thrivent's
Vanic, who manages Thrivent's alternative investment portfolio that includes direct private equity, described a two-year deep dive into the Bakken opportunity, and "we reached the conclusion that the Bakken play is one of the least risky exploration and development plays in
The Bakken oil patch gets its name from the Bakken formation, a layer of rock roughly 2 miles down that contains the oil. It lies under a wide area of
The most recent Bakken oil production data from
Professional investors are now actively scouting for opportunities among companies active in the Bakken but are "trying to be smart about not investing in flash-in-the-pan opportunities," said
Vanic said Thrivent's bullish conclusion in 2010 coincided with a decision to invest in the first fund of
"He survived the ensuing turmoil when a lot of his competitors didn't, and he hunkered down for the next 20 to 25 years," Israel said. "As this started to take off again, [management] said they were as skeptical as anybody. How much do you want to bet on this?"
Israel and his colleagues came to agree with an optimistic take on the long-term potential of Bakken oil production. But part of the appeal of
The
The deal closed in
MBI, growing quickly at the time of the investment, is on track to do about
The new investors have added to their investment since 2010, in part to help fund seven acquisitions, but Israel added that Arthaud remains the largest single shareholder. Israel declined to comment on the amount invested or MBI's profitability, other than to say it has been consistently profitable since his firm invested.
"It's exceeded our expectations," Israel said. "Some things just went our way and we had no control over it. But most significantly is that this management team has done an exceptional job guiding the company through this growth."
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