Diamondback Energy to buy Endeavor in $26bn deal

US oil and gas company Diamondback Energy said on Monday that it has agreed to buy rival Endeavor Energy Resources in a $26bn deal.

The consideration will consist of around 117.3m shares of Diamondback common stock and $8bn in cash.

Diamondback will own approximately 60.5% of the combined entity, while Endeavor’s equity holders will own the rest.

Diamondback chairman and chief executive Travis Stice said: "This is a combination of two strong, established companies merging to create a ‘must own’ North American independent oil company. The combined company’s inventory will have industry-leading depth and quality that will be converted into cash flow with the industry’s lowest cost structure, creating a differentiated value proposition for our stockholders.

"This combination meets all the required criteria for a successful combination: sound industrial logic with tangible synergies, improved combined capital allocation and significant near and long-term financial accretion. With this combination, Diamondback not only gets bigger, it gets better."