M&A
February 12, 2024
3 minutes read

Diamondback To Buy Oil Rival Endeavor In $26B Deal

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ: FANG), an American oil and gas giant, has struck a deal to acquire Endeavor Energy Resources, the…

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ: FANG), an American oil and gas giant, has struck a deal to acquire Endeavor Energy Resources, the largest privately held oil and gas producer operating in the Permian Basin.

Diamondback will pay $8bn in cash and 117.3 million shares worth roughly $18bn as of announcement, totalling $26bn. This price marks one of the biggest global oil and gas acquisitions.

Diamondback is a Midland, Texas-based oil and gas producer operating solely in the Permian Basin, America’s highest-producing oil field.

Endeavor Energy Resources is also based in Midland and operates primarily in the Permian Basin. The company was founded in 1979 by Autry Stephens, a reclusive oil tycoon. The acquisition will hand a massive windfall to Stephens, Endeavor’s majority shareholder.

Diamondback-Endeavor will become the third-largest oil and gas producer in the Permian Basin behind ExxonMobil and Chevron. The combined company would pump 816,000 barrels of oil and gas per day (boepd).

It’s a time of consolidation in the American oil and gas sector. Last October, ExxonMobil struck a $60bn deal to acquire gas producer Pioneer Natural Resources. That same month, Chevron struck a $50bn deal to buy rival Hess Corporation.

Last December, Occidental Resources agreed to buy Midland-based CrownRock for $12bn. Diamondback’s Endeavor acquisition furthers the consolidation wave as American oil and gas giants seek to expand locally.