U.S. upstream investor Vortus raises $119m for debut fund

Vortus Investment Advisors, LLC, a private equity firm founded by Jeffrey W. Miller and Brian C. Crumley to generate long-term capital gains primarily through investments in the mid-market upstream energy industry in North America, has raised $119.7 million for its debut fund Vortus Investments, LP.

The capital fundraising was publicized in a SEC filing on October 31st.

According to its website, Vortus will focus on lower/middle market investment opportunities providing development capital in partnership with successful owner/operators in the conventional/unconventional U.S. onshore upstream market

Vortus will emphasize privately negotiated transactions in the lower/middle market (i.e., <$100 million transactions) which Vortus believes is a more abundant and less efficient segment of the capital-constrained domestic onshore E&P industry.

Vortus' management team brings a combination of over 45 years of energy specific expertise to the firm across a wide range of disciplines - private equity, investment banking/M&A, capital markets, public equity and debt investing, managerial, and restructuring – supported by the foundation of a petroleum engineering background.

Prior to co-founding Vortus, Mr. Miller was the Director of Upstream and Investments for Mercuria Energy Trading based in Fort Worth, Texas and Geneva, Switzerland from 2008 to 2012, where he held global responsibility for the Upstream/E&P portfolio on behalf of Mercuria and its primary shareholders’ foundations.

Before Vortus, Mr. Crumley was a founding partner of LKCM Private Discipline Partners, LP (LKCM PDP) which was started in 2006 under the umbrella of Luther King Capital Management, a $15 billion asset management firm in Fort Worth, Texas.