Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. is a special purpose acquisition entity focused on the energy industry in North America and was formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, amalgamation, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We are sponsored by Spartan Energy Acquisition Sponsor, LLC, which is owned by a private investment fund managed by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, LLC (“Apollo”). Apollo is led by its managing partners, Leon Black, Joshua Harris and Marc Rowan, who have worked together for more than 28 years and lead a team of 1,052 employees, including 382 investment professionals (as of June 30, 2018), in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Delhi and Mumbai. Apollos team possesses a broad range of transaction, financial, managerial and investment skills. Apollo operates its businesses in an integrated manner, which we believe distinguishes Apollo from other alternative asset managers. Apollos investment professionals frequently collaborate and share information across disciplines including market insight, management, banking and consultant contacts as well as potential investment opportunities. This collaboration contributes to Apollos library of industry knowledge and we believe enables Apollo to invest successfully across a companys capital structure. Although we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business or industry, we intend to capitalize on the Apollo platform to identify, acquire and operate a business in the energy industry that may provide opportunities for attractive risk-adjusted returns and specifically to focus on opportunities in multiple sectors within the energy industry and target the area with the most compelling potential returns. We believe this area of focus represents a favorable and highly fragmented market opportunity to consummate a business combination. We intend to identify and acquire a business that could benefit from a hands-on owner with extensive transactional, financial, managerial and investment experience in the energy industry that presents potential for an attractive risk-adjusted return profile under our stewardship. Even fundamentally sound companies can often underperform their potential due to underinvestment, a temporary period of dislocation in the markets in which they operate, over-levered capital structures, excessive cost structures, incomplete management teams and/or inappropriate business strategies. Apollo has extensive experience in identifying and executing acquisitions across the upstream, midstream, and energy services sectors of the energy industry. We believe that we are well positioned to identify attractive risk-adjusted returns in the marketplace and that our contacts and transaction sources, ranging from industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, and investment bankers, in addition to the energy industry reach of Apollo Natural Resources Partners II, L.P., which is further supported by the broader Apollo platform, will enable us to pursue a broad range of opportunities.
Management and Board of Directors
- Chairman of the Board of Directors. Gregory Beard has served as a member of our board of directors since October 18, 2017. Mr. Beard is the Global Head of Natural Resources and a Senior Partner at Apollo, having joined the Firm in 2010. Previously, Mr. Beard was at Riverstone Holdings, an energy-focused private equity firm, as a founding member and Managing Director. He began his career as a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs, where he played an active role in energy-sector principal investment activities. Mr. Beard currently serves on the boards of directors of Apex Energy, Caelus Energy, CSV Midstream, Double Eagle Energy II/III, EP Energy, Jupiter Resources, Roundtable Energy, Talos Energy, Pegasus, Northwoods, and Tumbleweed Royalty. He also serves on the board of directors of The Conservation Fund. Mr. Beard received his BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana. We believe Mr. Beards extensive background in the energy industry makes him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.
- Chief Executive Officer and Director. Geoffrey Strong has served as our Chief Executive Officer since October 18, 2017. Mr. Strong is a Senior Partner at Apollo having joined the Firm in 2012. Prior to that time, Mr. Strong was a member of the Private Equity group at Blackstone and prior to that he was Vice President of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, the private equity business within Morgan Stanley. Mr. Strong serves on the board of directors of Apex Energy, Apollo Royalties Management, Caelus Energy, Chisholm Oil and Gas, Double Eagle Energy III, Great Salt Plains Midstream, Momentum Minerals, Northwoods Energy, Roundtable Energy, Tumbleweed Royalty, Freestone Midstream Holdings, LLC and Vistra Energy. Mr. Strong graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Business Administration from Western Oregon University, graduated cum laude with a JD from Lewis & Clark College, and graduated with an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Mr. Strongs extensive experience investing in the energy industry makes him a valuable addition to our management team and board of directors.
- Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Crossen has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Office since October 18, 2017. Mr. Crossen is Chief Financial Officer for Private Equity and Natural Resources at Apollo, having joined the Firm in 2010. Prior to that time, Mr. Crossen was a Controller at Roundtable Investment Partners LLC. Prior thereto, Mr. Crossen was a Controller at Fortress Investment Group. Prior to that time, Mr. Crossen was a member of the Funds Management and Tax Group at JP Morgan Partners LLC. Mr. Crossen is a Certified Public Accountant in New York. Mr. Crossen served in the United States Marine Corps and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut. Mr. Crossens extensive background in the energy industry makes him a valuable addition to our management team.
- Director. John J. MacWilliams served as the Associate Deputy Secretary and Chief Risk Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy (the “DOE”) from August 2015 until January 2017 and as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the DOE from June 2013 until August 2015. Prior to his appointment to the DOE, Mr. MacWilliams was Managing Partner at Tremont Energy Partners, LLC, a private investment and advisory firm specializing in the global energy industry. Mr. MacWilliams co-founded Tremont Energy in 2004 after serving as Vice Chairman, Investment Bank, at JP Morgan Chase and Partner at JP Morgan Partners from 2000 until 2003. Previously, Mr. MacWilliams was a founding partner in 1993 of The Beacon Group, LLC. Mr. MacWilliamss prior positions include Executive Director of Goldman Sachs & Cos International Banking Division, Vice President for Goldman Sach & Co.s Private Finance Group, and attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Mr. MacWilliams has served on Boards of Directors for Alliance Resource Partners, LP, Compagnie Generale de Geophysique, Longhorn Partners Pipeline, LP, SmartSync, Inc, Soft Switching Technologies, Inc., and Titan Methanol Company. Since 2017, Mr. MacWilliams has served as a Senior Advisor for the Boston Consulting Group, a Fellow at Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy and Adjunct Professor at Columbias School of International and Public Affairs. Mr. MacWilliams holds a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
- Director. Mr. Reeves previously served as Athlon Energys Chairman, President, and CEO since its formation in August 2010 through to its $7.1 billion sale to Encana in November 2014. Mr. Reeves was Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Encore Acquisition Company and Encore Energy Partners until the $4.5 billion sale of both companies to Denbury Resources Inc. in March 2010. Prior to joining Encore, Mr. Reeves served as Assistant Controller for Hugoton Energy Corporation. Mr. Reeves serves on the Board of Directors for publicly held EP Energy Corp, which owns oil and gas properties in the Eagle Ford in South Texas, the Permian Basin of West Texas and the Altament of Utah for privately held Incline Niobrara Partners LP and Incline Energy Partners LP, which focus on acquiring oil and liquids-rich minerals, royalties and non-operated working interest in the DJ basin of Colorado. Since February 2015, Mr. Reeves has served as Chairman and President of Solar Soccer Club, a private 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on youth soccer development in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Mr. Reeves received his BS in accounting from the University of Kansas and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Reeves is well qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive experience in public and private company operations and with mergers and acquisitions execution and integration.
- Director. Mr. Stice previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Access Midstream from the time it spun out of Chesapeake Energy until his retirement in 2015. Mr. Stice began his career in 1981 with Conoco, as an associate engineer. For more than 25 years, Mr. Stice held technical and managerial positions of increasing responsibility with ConocoPhillips in exploration, production, midstream, and gas marketing worldwide. In 2009, Mr. Stice joined Chesapeake and served as President of Chesapeake Midstream Development and Senior Vice President of Natural Gas Projects for Chesapeake Energy. He retired in 2015 as Chief Executive Officer of Access Midstream, formerly Chesapeake Midstream Partners. Currently, Mr. Stice serves as Dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth & Energy at the University of Oklahoma, a position he assumed in August 2015. Mr. Stice serves on the boards of directors of Marathon Petroleum Corporation, MPLX and U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. He is a former director on the MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. board. Mr. Stice holds a bachelors degree in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma, a masters degree in business from Stanford University, and a doctorate in education from The George Washington University. As a result of his professional and academic experiences, Mr. Stice brings extensive breadth, depth and expertise in the oil and natural gas services industry to our board of directors.
Member