Published: June 30, 2025 |

[Click image to enlarge]

[Click image to enlarge]

Viper Energy, a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, and Sitio Royalties have entered into a definitive agreement where Viper will acquire Sitio in an all-equity transaction valued at approximately $4.1 billion, including Sitio’s net debt of approximately $1.1 billion as of March 31, 2025.

“The combination of Viper and Sitio signifies an important moment for mineral and royalty interests. This combination creates a leader in size, scale, float, liquidity, and access to investment grade capital in the highly fragmented minerals industry. Pro forma Viper is now clearly a must-own public mineral and royalty company in North America, with attractive size and scale in the Permian Basin,” said Kaes Van’t Hof, chief executive officer of Viper.

“While this transaction will reduce Diamondback’s ownership in pro forma Viper to 41 percent, it does not reduce the significance of the relationship between Diamondback and Viper. The Diamondback drillbit remains Viper’s biggest competitive advantage and the most visible source of long-term production growth at Viper. Mineral interests offer the highest form of security and upside in the oil field, and any and all benefits an operator manages to unlock accrues directly to the mineral holder without any capital risk, forever,” added Van’t Hof.

“We are excited to announce the combination of two leading minerals companies with a shared strategic vision of integrating the highest quality assets to create a truly differentiated investment opportunity for shareholders. This transaction provides Sitio’s shareholders with exposure to an entity with significantly greater size, future development visibility, and all of the benefits of the economies of scale unique to the minerals business — higher margins, lower cost of capital, strong positioning for future M&A opportunities, and the ability to return more capital to shareholders,” said Sitio CEO Chris Conoscenti.

“This transaction is the next logical step in Sitio’s evolution. By adding Sitio’s coverage of the Delaware Basin to Viper’s position in the Midland Basin, the combined company will be well positioned in the Permian for years to come,” said Noam Lockshin, chairman of the Sitio board of directors.

The transaction was unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company and has been approved by the written consent of Diamondback as Viper’s majority stockholder. Stockholders holding an aggregate of approximately 48 percent of Sitio’s outstanding voting power, including Kimmeridge, its largest stockholder, have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025.

Viper Energy is a corporation formed by Diamondback Energy to own, acquire, and exploit oil and natural gas properties in North America, with a focus on owning and acquiring mineral and royalty interests in oil-weighted basins, primarily the Permian Basin.

Sitio is a shareholder returns-driven company focused on large-scale consolidation of high-quality oil and gas mineral and royalty interests across premium basins, with a diversified set of top-tier operators. With a clear objective of generating cash flow from operations that can be returned to stockholders and reinvested, Sitio has accumulated approximately 34,300 net royalty acres through the consummation of over 200 acquisitions, as of March 31, 2025.

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!

CLICK HERE to register your email address.

Copyright © 2025 Mining Connection LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

For licensing permission, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)