Shale investor Dan Wilks takes active stake in NexTier Oilfield Solutions

2nd February 2021 By: Reuters

Shale investor Dan Wilks on Monday reported a 5.13% active stake in NexTier Oilfield Solutions , saying the shares of the US provider of hydraulic fracturing services are "undervalued" and that he may push for a sale or other alternatives.

The billionaire Wilks brothers have been acquiring stakes in hard hit services firms across North America, with Dan Wilks last month reporting a 7.5% active stake in troubled oilfield services firm ProPetro Holding.

Wilks Brothers already owns hydraulic fracturing firm ProFrac Services and had recently engaged in a lengthy takeover battle for Canada's Calfrac Well Services.

Dan Wilks, who acquired the stake in NexTier through an investment vehicle, said he might propose capital allocation strategy, ownership structure and strategic transactions, including a sale as a whole or in parts as well as acquisitions or investments by NexTier, among others.

Dan Wilks and his brother Farris Wilks made their fortune during the shale boom through a company they founded called Frac Tech Services, which provided trucks to frackers.

NexTier, which recently changed its name following the combination of Keane Group and C&J Energy Services, was not immediately available for comment.