The legend returns
Lord Browne joins private equity firm
Posted: 27 August 2007
 Send this article
 Print this article
The decision of Lord Browne, one of Britain 's most successful businessmen, to resign from BP in May was described as a sad end to a brilliant career. But the former BP chief has now made his come back, taking his energy expertise to the private equity market. On Friday, Riverstone Holdings said Browne has joined the firm as a managing director and managing partner.
 The New York-based firm said it will open a London office where Lord Browne will be based. Riverstone Holdings is energy and power focused private equity firm founded in 2000. It conducts buyout and growth capital investments in the midstream, upstream, power, oilfield services, and renewable sectors of the energy industry.
To date, the firm has committed more than $6 billion to more than 41 investments across each of these five sectors, representing companies with nearly $50 billion of assets.
Riverstone was founded by ex-Goldman Sachs energy bankers Pierre Lapeyre and David Leuschen.
“We’ve known, worked with and respected John Browne for nearly 25 years,” said Lapeyre and Leuschen in a joint statement. “He is a legend in the energy industry and we are very excited about him joining Riverstone. He is without question one of the most visionary, experienced and talented executives in the energy industry with an unparalleled global understanding.
“We are looking forward to Lord Browne helping us expand our existing energy practice and identifying new opportunities in the alternative and renewable energy markets.”
Lord Browne said: “Since its founding in 2000, Riverstone has emerged as one of the leading and certainly one of the most respected private equity firms in the energy industry.”
There were great successes in Lord Browne’s 12 year tenure at the top of BP. He created the industry's first super major by merging BP with Amoco. He persuaded Russia to allow BP to buy half of a domestic oil company. And as BP expanded, he kept costs under control, so profits rose.
In spite of speculation about the impact on his career of the Alaska oil spill and the controversy over the Texas refinery blaze, it was a personal issue that brought him down.
“This is an opportunity for me to return to the energy industry full-time, which will enable me to best apply my life-long skills and experience,” Browne added. “I continue to believe it is a unique and important time in the energy industry and I am quite excited to actively participate in Riverstone’s growth strategy to identify and manage attractive investment opportunities.” |
