Black Knight Energy Receives $500m Equity Commitment from Kayne Anderson

Black Knight Energy has received an equity commitment in excess of $500m from funds managed by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, including Kayne Private Energy Income Fund II, and Kayne Anderson Energy Fund VIII, alongside Black Knight’s management team.

Headquartered in Santa Clarita, California, Black Knight is a private energy company formed to pursue the acquisition, and development of large, cash flowing oil, and natural gas assets across the lower 48. The Black Knight management team is led by Todd Stevens as Chief Executive Officer, Darren Williams as Chief Operating Officer, and Elizabeth DeStephens as Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer. Prior to the formation of Black Knight, Todd most recently served as President and CEO of California Resources Corp., a position he held since the company’s spin-off from Occidental Petroleum in 2014. Darren, and Elizabeth also held senior management positions at CRC, most recently as Executive Vice President of Operations, Exploration, and Development, and Vice President of Reserves, and Strategic Analytics, respectively.

Todd Stevens commented, “I am excited to be partnering with Kayne Anderson in this new venture. We have assembled a great team at Black Knight, with a disciplined focus on value creation, operating cash flow and margin enhancement through safe, responsible operations. With the right capital partner behind us in Kayne Anderson, we are well positioned for success.”

Mark Teshoian, Managing Partner at Kayne Anderson, said, “The Black Knight team has an exceptional operational, and commercial track record having previously managed large-scale operations with a keen focus on environmental stewardship. We are fully confident in Todd and his entire team’s ability to create long-term value for our investors and we are excited to partner with them in the formation of Black Knight.”