Order book closed on Hayward's £1bn listing

Former BP boss Tony Hayward has closed order books early for the listing of his oil acquisition vehicle and will raise an increased amount of at least £1.2 billion, sources said last night.

Hayward and financier Nathaniel Rothschild announced last week they planned to list their venture, Vallares, and would use cash raised to target an unlisted group in an emerging market, which needs capital and expertise to develop its fields.

At the time, they said that Vallares would aim to raise around 1bn with the listing.

Books on the offering closed yesterday, instead of Monday as originally planned.

One source said: "It won't be smaller than 1.2bn."

The final amount raised is expected to be announced today, along with the publication of the prospectus for the offering.

Hayward has said Vallares would eye targets with an enterprise value of between 3bn and 8bn, but could also consider smaller deals to bring related assets together.

The project marks another step in Hayward's return from the business wilderness after he was ousted from BP following last year's Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

In April, he was named as a non-executive director of commodities trader Glencore.

Vallares is a sequel to Rothschild's Vallar mining investment vehicle, which has bought interests in Indonesian coal projects.

Vallares declined to comment.