big deal

Potential $50B Texas energy giant emerges as Diamondback seeks to buy rival Endeavor

A tie-up between Diamondback and Endeavor, if it succeeds, would create a player in the massive Permian Basin oil and gas field that straddles Texas and New Mexico. Photo via Unsplash

Diamondback Energy will attempt to buy rival Endeavor Energy Resources to create an energy giant in the Southwestern United States worth more than $50 billion.

Growing confidence in an economic recovery, particularly in the U.S., has driven massive deals in the energy sector in recent months, including Chevron's $53 billion acquisition of Hess in October, and a $59.5 billion deal two weeks before that by Exxon Mobil, its biggest acquisition since buying Mobil two decades ago.

A tie-up between Diamondback and Endeavor, if it succeeds, would create a player in the massive Permian Basin oil and gas field that straddles Texas and New Mexico.

It would be the third largest producer in the Permian behind Exxon and Chevron, overseeing 838,000 acres and potentially producing 816,000 oil-equivalent barrels each day.

Diamondback said Monday that it will buy Endeavor in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $26 billion.

Endeavor is the largest private operator in the Permian Basin. Drillers can pull more than 4 million barrels of oil equivalent from the Permian daily and the rush is on to secure prime real estate in the largest oil field in the United States with little sign that the U.S. economy is slowing as many had expected.

“Our companies share a similar culture and operating philosophy and are headquartered across the street from one another, which should allow for a seamless integration of our two teams," Diamondback Chairman and CEO Travis Stice said in a prepared statement.

Despite broad expectations that it would dip into recession in a turbulent global economy, the U.S. has proven surprisingly resilient, with a red hot job market and economic growth that has surprised almost everyone. The nation’s economy grew at an unexpectedly brisk 3.3% annual pace from October through December.

Shareholders of Diamondback Energy Inc. will own about 60.5% of the combined company, while Endeavor’s equity holders would own approximately 39.5%.

“Diamondback and Endeavor’s assets are highly contiguous and offer opportunities to capture operational and overhead synergies through a combination,” Stifel's Derrick Whitfield said in an analyst note, explaining that the deal will add low-cost inventory to Diamondback's Midland Basin position.

The Diamondback, Endeavor deal confirmed Monday includes approximately 117.3 million shares of Diamondback common stock and $8 billion in cash, and will create a huge operator in the Permian Basin that straddles Texas and New Mexico.

The combined company will be based in Midland, Texas.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter. It also has all of the necessary Endeavor approvals, the companies said.

Diamondback's stock rose nearly 2% before the market open.

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A View From HETI

Six companies have joined Greentown Houston, focused on long-duration energy storage systems, 3D solar towers and more. Photo courtesy Greentown Labs.

Greentown Labs announced the six startups to join its Houston community in Q2 of 2025.

The companies are among a group of 13 that joined the climatetech incubator, which is co-located in Houston and Boston, in the same time period. The companies that joined the Houston-based lab specialize in a number of clean energy applications, from long-duration energy storage systems to 3D solar towers.

The new Houston members include:

  • Encore CO2, a Louisiana-based company that converts CO2 into ethanol, acetate, ethylene and other sustainable chemicals through its innovative electrolysis technology
  • Janta Power, a Dallas-based company with proprietary 3D-solar-tower technology that deploys solar power vertically rather than flatly, increasing power and energy generation
  • Licube, an Austin-based company focused on sustainable lithium recovery from underutilized sources using its proprietary and patented electrodialysis technology
  • Newfound Materials, a Houston-based company that has developed a predictive engine for materials R&D
  • Pix Force, a Houston-based company that develops AI algorithms to inspect substations, transmission lines and photovoltaic plants using drones
  • Wattsto Energy, a Houston-based manufacturer of a long-duration-energy-storage system with a unique hybrid design that provides fast, safe, sustainable and cost-effective energy storage at the microgrid and grid levels

Seven other companies will join Greentown Boston's incubator. See the full list here.

Greentown Houston also added five startups to its local lab in Q1. Read more about the companies here.

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