Permian Merger With Earthstone Creates $14-Billion Delaware Basin Producer
By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com
Permian Resources has signed a deal to buy Earthstone Energy in an all-stock deal valued at $4.5 billion, which is expected to create a $14-billion premier producer in the Delaware basin in the Permian, the companies said on Monday.
The value of the all-stock deal is inclusive of Earthstone’s net debt.
Under the terms of the transaction, each share of Earthstone common stock will be exchanged for 1.446 shares of Permian Resources common stock.
The deal is expected to boost Permian Resources’ position as a leading Delaware Basin independent E&P operator with more than 400,000 Permian net acres, and pro forma production of around 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), the companies said.
The transaction will boost cash flows and will be immediately accretive to Permian Resources’ returns to shareholders. The company plans to increase its quarterly base dividend by 20% to $0.06 per share beginning with its first-quarter 2024 dividend.
“After evaluating over $20 billion of potential transactions during the past twelve months, we firmly believe the acquisition of Earthstone represented the best transaction for Permian Resources. It checks all the boxes, enhancing shareholder value while improving upon an already best-in-class company,” said James Walter, Co-CEO of Permian Resources.
The transaction is the latest of a series of deals in the Permian, which returned in the second quarter as the hottest spot for the U.S. upstream deal-making market.
During the second quarter, U.S. upstream mergers and acquisitions boomed with $24 billion transacted in 20 deals, with the Permian returning to its usual position as the center of M&A activity, Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR) said in a quarterly report last month.
Chevron’s purchase of primarily DJ-focused producer PDC Energy was one notable exception to this Permian-centric quarter, Enverus said.
“The second quarter saw a thunderous return to Permian M&A after a relatively quiet start to the year,” said Andrew Dittmar, director at Enverus.
