Morgan Stanley Private Equity has entered into a partnership with and gained a majority investment in Triana Energy Investments.
Morgan Stanley Private Equity has entered into a partnership with and gained a majority investment in Triana Energy Investments.
Triana Energy is a natural gas exploration and production company based in Charleston, West Virginia, with operations focused on the Appalachian Basin, including the Marcellus Shale.
The investment is intended to be the first step in a broader partnership as Triana Energy expands operations.
Triana Energy was founded by chairman and chief executive Henry Harmon in 2006. Harmon was previously the president of Columbia Natural Resources, the natural gas E&P subsidiary of Columbia Energy, a division of NiSource. Columbia Natural Resources was acquired in 2003 by Harmon and his prior company, also called Triana Energy, with financial support provided by Morgan Stanley Private Equity through its Morgan Stanley Capital Partners IV fund.
This is Morgan Stanley Private Equity’s second investment with Harmon and the Triana Energy management team and its fourth investment in the Appalachian Basin.
Morgan Stanley Private Equity pursued a similar investment strategy with the Triana Energy team from 2001 to 2005, which concluded with a successful sale to Chesapeake Energy for over USD2.2bn.
John Moon, a partner and managing director of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, says: ‘We have had a successful relationship with this team for nearly a decade, and we believe this is an extraordinary investment environment. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working again with Triana Energy – the premier energy team in the Appalachian Basin.’
Harmon adds: ‘Given the strength and success of our longstanding relationship with Morgan Stanley Private Equity, we are eager to reengage with them in the development of our existing assets and the expansion of our business throughout the Appalachian Basin.’
The transaction represents Morgan Stanley Private Equity’s fifth investment since May 2007.
