Crescent Energy to Buy SilverBow as U.S. Shale Mergers Continue

Crescent Energy will buy SilverBow Resources in a deal valued at $2.1 billion to create a major player in the Eagle Ford shale formation as the U.S. oil and gas mergers continue in the second quarter of the year.

Under the terms of the transaction, SilverBow shareholders will receive 3.125 shares of Crescent Class A common stock for each share of SilverBow common stock, with the option to elect to receive all or a portion of the proceeds in cash at a value of $38 per share, subject to possible pro ration with a maximum total cash consideration for the transaction of $400 million, the companies said on Thursday.  

“The combination with SilverBow, which is expected to be immediately accretive to all key per share metrics, solidifies Crescent as a leading operator in the Eagle Ford and strengthens the company’s growth platform with increased scale,” Crescent CEO David Rockecharlie said.

The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, including approvals by shareholders of each company and typical regulatory agencies, is targeted to close by the end of the third quarter of 2024.

Prior to the deal with Crescent Energy, SilverBow was in extensive talks with Kimmeridge about a possible transaction. 

The Crescent-SilverBow merger is the latest in a series of transactions in the U.S. shale industry which boomed last year and earlier this year.

U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies spent as much as $234 billion on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) last year—the highest such spend in real dollar terms since 2012, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said earlier this year.

2024 also began on a high note—companies announced a record $51 billion in deals in the first quarter, driven – again – by deal-making in the Permian, according to Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR).

Going forward, potential buyers are likely to be looking beyond the Permian, due to higher fragmentation in other plays and lower prices, Enverus added, noting that the Eagle Ford and the SCOOP/STACK could be the next major shale regions for M&As. 

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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