North Dakota, June 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Bismarck, N.D. - Bakken Midstream, a developer of value-added natural gas infrastructure in North Dakota, announced today the closing of its Series A funding. The first-round funding led by the Family Office of Founder and Chairman, Steven E. Lebow was oversubscribed. Previously, Lebow co-led Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette’s Los Angeles office and ran GRP Partners, a venture capital firm. He was a primary financier for companies including Costco Wholesale, PetSmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and ULTA Beauty. Lebow has been studying the North Dakota natural gas market for several years along with representatives of the State and industry and believes the timing is right to build a major infrastructure company in North Dakota. Other investors in the round include Richard A. Galanti, longtime CFO of Costco Wholesale, Charles J. Philippin, former longtime Chairman of ULTA Beauty, George P. Orban, Co-Founder and Lead Director of Ross Stores, Inc., and Herald L. Ritch, Founder of DC Advisory.
“North Dakota has tremendous natural gas resources, but there is a severe shortage of natural gas infrastructure, and the infrastructure that is in place today is primarily to transport natural gas and related liquids out of the State as raw commodities,” explained Mike Hopkins, CEO of Bakken Midstream. “Extraordinary volumes of gas are being flared, and what is being transported out of the State delivers low value for producers, royalty owners and the State. Bakken Midstream and our partners are bringing transformational change by developing not just natural gas infrastructure as North Dakota has known it, but infrastructure designed to add value in the State.”
“During my career as an investment banker and venture capitalist I’ve had the privilege of helping build several great companies - Bakken Midstream has the opportunity to be such a company,” said Steve Lebow. “You need a big opportunity, the right people and access to capital. The natural gas resources of North Dakota are certainly a big opportunity. We’ve assembled a world class leadership team, including our CEO Mike Hopkins who helped develop over $12 billion of natural gas-based infrastructure before building his prior company, Ice Energy, into the leading distributed thermal energy storage company. The projects being undertaken by Bakken Midstream are very capital intensive and highly attractive to infrastructure and private equity funds and other institutional investors we know well.”
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About Bakken Midstream:
Formed in 2018, Bakken Midstream is a developer of value-added natural gas infrastructure in North Dakota. Our mission is to develop and own infrastructure that makes North Dakota a world-class leader in value-added natural gas related products. For more information visit https://www.bakkenmidstream.com.