Pickering Energy Partners announced a merger with investment firm SailingStone Capital Partners LLC, further expanding its platform into energy transition and ESG across the upstream natural resource space.

Dan Pickering
Dan Pickering

Headquartered in Houston, Pickering Energy Partners takes an entrepreneurial approach to a global natural resources-focused financial services platform with customized asset management strategies and a high impact consulting capability. The original Pickering Energy Partners was founded in early 2004 by Dan Pickering as an institutional energy research firm before subsequently partnering with Bobby Tudor and Maynard Holt in 2007 to become Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.

“We are excited to support and participate in SailingStone’s initiative focusing on the upstream resources and companies that will be foundational to the energy transition,” said Pickering, who serves as chief investment officer of Pickering Energy Partners, in a statement on Feb. 25.

Commenting further on the partnership, Pickering noted he has known the SailingStone principals—MacKenzie Davis, Ken Settles and Brian Lively—for many years.

“MacKenzie Davis and Ken Settles were among the first clients of our predecessor firm in 2004, while Brian Lively was a key contributor to the TPH energy research franchise for a number of years,” he said. “Collectively, they are one of the most experienced public equities teams investing in the global natural resources sector, and their deep domain expertise expands our collective platform.”

SailingStone is a dedicated global natural resource investment adviser focused on providing institutional investors access to a broad array of solutions related to the energy transition across the upstream natural resource space. The firm was formed in 2014 by managers of the global natural resources portfolio at San Francisco-based RS Investments.

Combined, Pickering Energy Partners and SailingStone will have one of the most tenured resource-investing teams in the market, uniquely qualified to identify, assess and execute on current trends and opportunities across the global natural resources sectors, including the energy transition and ESG, according to a company release.

“The energy transition and ESG mandates will transform the global natural resource investment landscape, and we are confident that a SailingStone-PEP platform is uniquely suited to provide solutions in this new environment,” said Davis, who serves as managing partner of SailingStone Capital.

The Pickering Energy Partners and SailingStone Capital merger is the latest announcement from Pickering on the firm’s business development and new sustainability offerings to clients.

The merger and addition of energy transition investment capabilities come on the heels of Pickering Energy Partners’ launch of a formalized energy consulting practice, which, like SailingStone, encompasses engagements across both traditional and alternative energy. Pickering Energy Partners also recently made a direct investment into an electric vehicle infrastructure company, the firm’s release said.