US-based clean energy company Luca Technologies has registered for an initial public offering (IPO), looking to raise up to $125m. Corporate backers of the company include ASF and BASF.
One Equity Partners, the private equity division of US-based bank JP Morgan Chase co-led a $75.9m series C round in December 2008 at $11.56 per share by contributing $40m. Australia-based energy conglomerate ASF Group, as well as venture capital (VC) firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers(KPCB)’s Green Growth Fund, put up $20m, and the VC firm Oxford BioSciences also participated in the round.
Formerly known as ClearFlame Reources until 2004, Luca’s series B round, which raised $20m in October 2007, included BASF Venture Capital, the corporate venturing unit of Germany-based chemical company BASF, as well as VC firms KPCB and Oxford BioScience Partners. BASF, which invested $2m in the B round and $4m in the series C, owns 7.9% of Luca, according to the portfolio company’s regulatory filing.
The series A round, in 2006, raised $3m from undisclosed investors, making a total of around $99m.
The IPO will be underwritten by Citigroup Global Markets, the brokerage and securities unit of US-based financial conglomerate Citigroup, and UBS Securities, a division of the Switzerland-based banking conglomerate, along with investment banking firm Piper Jaffray. Financial services firm Robert W Baird will act as co-manager.
Founded in 2003, Luca uses biotechnology to accelerate the conversion of hydrocarbon deposits into methane, the principal component of natural gas, which it then sells in existing markets. The company plans to use the money raised in the IPO to acquire more existing natural gas wells, which it can restore and utilise in a more sustainable manner using its microbial technology.