Oil and gas producer Diamondback Energy Inc said it will buy all leasehold interest and related assets of FireBird Energy LLC for $1.6 bln in cash and stock.
FireBird’s assets currently consist of about 68,000 acres in the Midland Basin in Texas, with estimated production, at the time of the closing of the deal, of about 17 million barrels of oil per day.
The FireBird acquisition marks the biggest deal for Diamondback since its back-to-back purchase of QEP Resources and Guidon Operating in 2020 for a combined $3.2 billion, including debt, at a time when a pandemic-driven fallout in commodity prices spurred a wave of consolidation.
The FireBird deal, for 5.86 million Diamondback shares and $775 million in cash, was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the company.
“With over 350 locations adjacent to our current Midland Basin position, this asset adds more than a decade of inventory at our anticipated development pace,” Diamondback Chief Executive Officer Travis Stice said.
The deal will be accretive on all relevant 2023 and 2024 financial metrics, Diamondback said.
Source: Reuters.com