U.S. energy investor Kimmeridge has offered to buy natural gas producer Ascent Resources for $6 billion amid a heated battle over plans of the gas driller’s private equity backer to transfer its stake from one of its funds to another.

The Energy & Minerals Group, a private equity firm focused on natural resources, plans to transfer its more than 30% stake in Ascent Resources into a newly formed continuation vehicle, which is estimated to value the gas producer at about $5.5 billion.  

However, the plan has been met with resistance by another Ascent investor, sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Council, which early this month sued the Energy & Minerals Group over the proposed deal, accusing the private equity firm of self-dealing. 

“Defendants have made multiple material misstatements and omissions about the proposed transaction and employed a variety of coercive tactics to obtain the necessary Advisory Board approval,” by Abu Dhabi Investment Council said in the lawsuit. 

Mason Capital Management, a long-standing investor in Ascent Resources, also flagged last week the flawed sales process, saying that the conflicted transaction by The Energy & Minerals Group substantially undervalues Ascent, enriching EMG at expense of its LPs and other company unitholders.

Mason Capital also noted that it is considering an all-cash offer for Ascent Resources at a superior value to the proposed EMG transactions. 

Amid the rare public battle in the private equity world, Kimmeridge is now offering $6 billion for Ascent Resources, higher than the disputed fund-to-fund deal that would value the gas producer at about $5.5 billion.  

Source: Oilprice