Louis Bacon hailed critical to Alaskan fund

Louis Bacon is to become one of the cornerstones of a new oil investment project in Alaska. Alaska's sovereign wealth fund has invested hundreds of millions of pounds into the project which in marks a return to the London stock market for Lord Browne, the former BP chief.

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation invests on behalf of the public in the area and has named Riverstone Holdings, a renewable energy assets firm, as another crucial partner.

It is estimated that Louis Bacon will invest heavily into the fund which is expected to raise investment between £135m and £250m in return for a stake of up to 27%. Other investors include Hunt Oil, a group headed by Ray L Hunt, a Texan oil tycoon.

The listing is expected to be launched on September 23 and could see Riverstone Holdings raise between £500m and £1bn, according to bankers.

The listing will provide Riverstone with a potentially open-ended supply of funding to conclude deals as investors pour money into opportunities triggered by the US shale oil and gas boom.

Louis Bacon, whose hedge fund Moore Capital is one of the largest on Wall Street, will also sit on the board with a number of directors with links to Goldman Sachs, which alongside JP Morgan is preparing the Riverstone Energy flotation.

Coupled with Louis Bacon’s financial expertise and his environmental interests through his charity, the Moore Charitable Foundation, it makes the hedge fund manager uniquely placed to provide advice on a wide range of issues within the investment.