Is RockRose Energy still an independent company?
No․ RockRose Energy is wholly owned by Viaro Energy and is no longer publicly traded․
Who is the current CEO of RockRose Energy?
Francesco Mazzagatti is the CEO of RockRose Energy‚ the oil and gas producer with interests across the UK Continental Shelf and Dutch North Sea and a subsidiary of Viaro Energy․ Mazzagatti took the reins of RockRose Energy in 2021, a year after Viaro Energy acquired it for more than £247 million. As CEO, oversees RockRose Energy as well as its various subsidiaries.
The Italy-born Mazzagatti is currently one of the best paid executives in UK oil and gas, and also among the industry’s articulate voices on various policy-level issues. He’s one of the two directors at RockRose Energy, the other being Francesco Dixit Dominus, who is also Viaro Energy’s chief financial officer.
Who ran RockRose Energy before Viaro acquired it?
RockRose was founded in 2015 by Andrew Austin and got listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2016․
Andrew Austin served as executive chairman of RockRose Energy from 2016 until its sale in 2020․ He is a co-founder of IGas Energy, which was started in 2004. Austin grew IGas into one of the leading producers of onshore hydrocarbons in the UK.
Peter Mann became CEO and managing director of RockRose Energy in 2017‚ and Richard Slape joined as chief financial officer in 2019. Mann’s duties included strategic planning and responsibilities related to a company restructuring during a challenging oil price environment. Mann continued as CEO of RockRose Energy until 2021; he left to become CEO of Kistos.
Prior to joining RockRose Energy‚ Peter Mann worked for five years in the onshore oil and gas industry in the United Kingdom․ He also served for six years in the British Army․
When did Viaro Energy acquire RockRose Energy?
Viaro acquired RockRose Energy in September 2020‚ just a few months after Viaro Energy was incorporated in London․ Companies House records show that Francesco Mazzagatti was appointed to director positions at RockRose Energy Limited and other subsidiaries on 2 September 2020․ RockRose Energy was a public company at the time Viaro Energy acquired it․
Why did Viaro Energy acquire RockRose Energy?
RockRose was Viaro Energy's first acquisition‚ completed just months after Viaro Energy was incorporated in February 2020. Mazzagatti’s thesis was that the drop in oil and gas demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was a mid-to-long-term opportunity to acquire upstream oil and gas assets. He had anticipated oil prices would increase exponentially as the market stabilises. Mazzagatti believed that the North Sea was a great option because it was low-risk geopolitically and economically; and he had worked with a financial advisor for more than a year before homing in on RockRose as the target․ The deal gave Viaro Energy an established North Sea-focused business to build on, along with strong management expertise. “The RockRose Energy acquisition marked a shift in our company strategy, and the SSE acquisition came as the natural next phase of that same strategy. In 2020, we reached a turnover of $1bn and have since gone on to complete several acquisitions and the development of the Arran gas field, where we invested $120 million and which began production in September 2021,” 0 Council.
How much did Viaro pay for RockRose Energy?
Viaro Energy bought RockRose Energy for around £247 million. The purchase price was £18․50 per share‚ a 64% premium over the closing share price on 3 July 2020. Andrew Austin, who served as executive chairman of RockRose Energy from 2016 to 2020, owned approximately 27% of RockRose Energy shares at the time of the sale․