Diamondback’s Rattler Raises $665 Million in Top 2019 Energy IPO

Rattler Midstream Partners LP raised $665 million in the biggest energy initial public offering of the year, pricing an increased number of shares in the middle of its targeted range.

The Midland, Texas-based pipeline company sold 38 million shares at $17.50 each, according to a statement Wednesday. The company had marketed 33 million shares for $16 to $19 apiece.

Rattler was formed by Diamondback Energy Inc. to own, operate and acquire midstream assets in parts of the Permian Basin. Diamondback will retain about 76% of the voting rights in the company through Class B shares, according to the filing.

As of March 31, Diamondback had transferred to Rattler 781 miles of pipeline across the Midland and Delaware basins with a capacity of about 232,000 barrels a day for crude, plus natural gas, and drilling and waste water, the filing shows.

Diamondback has expanded its drilling in the Midland and Delaware basins in the Permian over the past two years. Last year, it drilled 176 new wells in those areas, compared with 62 in 2016. For the first three months of this year, Diamondback’s new wells in the area totaled 82, the filing shows.

Rattler’s revenue, as a Diamondback operation, more than quadrupled to $184 million in 2018 from $39 million a year earlier, according to its filings. Its net income rose to $63 million from $21 million.

The offering was led by Credit Suisse Group AG, Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The shares are expected to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol RTLR.