Acquisitions Vault Miami Energy Firm Into Top Tier.(Originated from The Miami Herald)

Jun. 23--A Miami-based oil and gas company vaulted into a top tier of the country's independent exploration firms Friday with a $172.1 million purchase of two Houston-based energy concerns.

Forcenergy, a company initially founded in a small Key Biscayne office in 1982, said it will acquire Edisto Resources Corp. and Convest Energy Corp. in a cash and stock deal that significantly expands its oil and gas holdings in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forcenergy's largest single acquisition is expected to close late this summer.

"It's not often you can run over opportunities that come along in the Gulf of Mexico where you find underexploited properties," …