Hicks Muse to Buy Up to 35% of Triton

Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. said Monday it has agreed to buy as much as 35% of Triton Energy Ltd., an oil and natural gas explorer that needs an influx of cash to develop foreign projects.

The Dallas-based investment group will pay between $165 million and $220 million for the stake.

The investment follows Hicks Muse’s $250-million purchase of a 62% stake in Fort Worth-based Coho Energy Inc. last week. The purchases reflect a new strategy to invest in the oil and gas industry’s long-term prospects, said Roy Winnick, a Hicks Muse spokesman.

Shares of Triton have fallen about 60% this year, partly due to oil prices that are near their lowest level in 10 years. Triton, also based in Dallas, put itself up for sale in March because it lacks the money to develop oil and natural-gas projects in Thailand, Colombia and Italy. The sale to Hicks Muse should ease the financial crisis, analysts said.

The combined proceeds of the sale, less expenses, will be used to repay debt and for general purposes.

In addition, Triton’s board will have 10 members, four of them named by Hicks Muse.

Triton has fired about 43% of it work force as part of a plan to cut costs by $25 million a year. Thomas Finck resigned as chairman, president and chief executive. He was replaced as chairman by Sheldon Erikson.

The company is still searching for a new chief executive, though Robert Holland, Triton’s interim chief executive, said the Hicks Muse investment should give the board the opportunity to attract the most qualified candidate.

Triton shares fell $1.94 to close at $11.44 on the New York Stock Exchange.