Skip to main content

An oil pumping unit is silhouetted by the setting sun in this file photo.CHARLIE RIEDEL/The Associated Press

Griffiths Energy International Inc. has a new plan to raise the money it needs to start developing its properties in Chad, scaling back the size of a private placement of stock and filling the gap with a new credit line.

Griffiths is the oil company co-founded by deceased financier Brad Griffiths. The company had planned to go public late last year in what would have been one of the biggest initial public offerings of 2011, seeking to raise $300-million. However, rough markets and an internal probe into the company's dealings in Chad made that a tough sell.

The company then pulled the IPO early in 2012, switching to a plan to raise cash in a private stock sale.

The current stock sale plan is a bit smaller than what people close to the company were talking about back in February, when the oil company shelved the IPO plan and switched to a focus on the private placement.

Griffiths is now trying to sell $125-million of stock at $6 a share. In February, the hope was to raise $200-million selling shares at $7 apiece. At either price, it would be an increase from the $5 level where the company sold shares in a September private placement.

The funds from the latest sale and the credit facility mean the company no longer needs to proceed with a near-term IPO, Griffiths said in a release, but the company "may consider an IPO on a senior global exchange in the future."

Amid the financing issues, Griffiths said it has moved forward on its projects by installing pipeline gear and working on feasibility studies.

Interact with The Globe