Marathon Petroleum Corp. considering $6.2 billion IPO for pipeline assets

FINDLAY, Ohio - Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC), the crude refiner that was spun off from Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) in June, says it is considering an initial public offering for its pipeline assets that may be worth as much as $6.2 billion.

Marathon Petroleum could launch the IPO for its pipeline assets as soon as the second half of 2012 and buy back as much as $2 billion in shares, the company said in a statement on Feb. 1. The announcement came less than two weeks after hedge fund Jana Partners LLC bought a 5.5 percent stake and began talks with the company.

Before Jana Partners began buying shares, Marathon Petroleum's Chief Executive Officer Gary Heminger said the Findlay-based company’s refineries and pipelines shouldn’t be broken up.

The offering would be for units of a master limited partnership, or MLP, the company said.

Marathon Petroleum shares rose 9.6 percent to $41.88 at the close of the stock market on Feb. 1 in New York. The shares traded at a 29 percent premium to the average price of $32.58 Jana paid for its 18.8 million shares, excluding options, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

WPX Energy files paperwork for IPO

TULSA, Okla. - Natural gas and oil explorer WPX Energy Inc. filed documents on April 29 detailing plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the third quarter.

In February, Tulsa-based Williams Cos. announced it would split into separate companies - WPX for exploration and production - and the other to operate its natural gas pipelines. The move was aimed at boosting each segment's growth by allowing for more flexibility in making operational decisions.

WPX's business will center on developing natural gas and oil reserves at sites in Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Williams has said that WPX will be one of the largest independent producers of natural gas in the U.S.

The company did not indicate how many shares the offering would include, nor how much they might cost. Total proceeds of $750 million were calculated solely to estimate the company's registration fee and are likely to change.

Kinder Morgan initial public offering opens up 5.6 percent

NEW YORK - The initial public offering of energy company Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) rose more than five percent on Feb. 11, KMI’s first day back as a public company.

The rise came even after the initial size of the offering was increased the stock was priced higher than expected.

The stock opened at $31.70 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, up 5.7 percent from its initial public offering price of $30. The stock then backed off some during the day, closing on Feb. 11 at $30.98, still up 3.3 percent.

A total of 95.5 million shares, 15.5 million more than originally planned, were sold at the $30 price, above KMI’s expected $26 to $29 float range.

Prior to the IPO, the company was wholly owned by Chairman and Chief Executive Richard D. Kinder, the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Highstar Capital LP, Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings LLC.

Kinder Morgan Inc. owns stakes in a trio of energy companies devoted to pipelines, but its main source of income is Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP), a publicly traded pipeline operator that generates 95 percent of the cash that flows into its parent through partnership distributions.