Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM) company history: the story so far

History

Viper Energy, a Permian Basin mineral and royalty owner, absorbed Sitio Royalties in a roughly $4.0 billion all-stock deal in 2025, then saw holders sell down and expanded its credit facility.

2025: The Sitio merger

Viper Energy owns mineral and royalty interests, mainly in the Permian Basin. On June 2, 2025 it agreed to buy Sitio Royalties in an all-stock deal. Sitio Class A holders were to receive 0.4855 new Viper Class A shares each, while Viper holders would get one new share per share held and own about 80% of the combined company. Diamondback and its subsidiaries, holding about 53.7% of Viper's voting power, approved the deal by written consent, so other Viper shareholders were not asked to vote. The deal was run through a new holding company, which filed to register the shares on June 30.

The merger closed on August 19, 2025. The new holding company took the name Viper Energy, Inc. and kept trading as VNOM, while the old Viper became a subsidiary, VNOM Sub, Inc. Sitio Class C shares were cancelled. The deal was valued at about $4.0 billion. An earlier acquisition from Endeavor, the Endeavor Drop-Down, had closed on May 1, 2025.

2026: Sell-downs, buybacks and a bigger credit line

On March 2, 2026 existing holders launched a secondary offering of 17,391,304 Class A shares. It priced at $45.90 a share, about $798 million in total, and closed on March 4. The sellers were Diamondback, EnCap Fund X, Tumbleweed Royalty IV and Oaktree affiliates, and Viper received no proceeds.

Alongside it, Viper's operating company bought 1,000,000 units from Oaktree at the offering price, and the matching Class B shares were cancelled. This used the $1.75 billion buyback program, which the board widened to cover those units and shares. Viper had also bought back 417,516 Class A shares since December 31, 2025 for $15.6 million, leaving about $1.23 billion of the authorization.

On June 12, 2026 Viper amended its credit agreement with Wells Fargo as administrative agent. The maturity moved from June 2030 to June 2031, commitments rose from $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion, and the interest rate and certain fees were lowered. As of June 15, 2026, the amount actually borrowed had not been disclosed, and the effect of folding in Sitio had not yet been reported.

Written from the 5 story beats below (2025 to 15 June 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.

Beat by beat

The events that changed the company's story, in plain English, each written against everything known about the company at the time. The dot shows whether it was good, bad or neutral for shareholders.

2026

15 June
On June 12, 2026 Viper amended its credit agreement (Wells Fargo is administrative agent; Viper Energy Partners LP is borrower). Maturity moved from June 12, 2030 to June 12, 2031, total commitments rose from $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion, and the interest rate and certain fees were lowered. The filing gives no drawn balance, so how much is actually borrowed is unknown. This shows a credit facility exists, which the prior context listed as none disclosed.
debt financing
4 Mar
The secondary offering priced at $45.90 per share (about $798 million gross) and closed March 4, 2026. The sellers are Diamondback, EnCap Fund X, Tumbleweed Royalty IV and Oaktree affiliates, and Viper got no proceeds. Viper's operating company bought 1,000,000 OpCo units from Oaktree at the offering price, and the matching Class B shares were cancelled. This was done under the $1.75 billion buyback program, which the board widened to cover OpCo units and Class B shares. Separately, Viper has bought back 417,516 Class A shares since Dec 31, 2025 for $15.6 million, leaving about $1.23 billion of the authorization. This resolves the offering thread opened by the earlier launch filing.
material agreement
3 Mar
On March 2, 2026 Viper announced a secondary offering of 17,391,304 Class A shares sold by existing holders (Diamondback, EnCap and Oaktree affiliates), with Viper receiving no proceeds. Viper also agreed to buy 1,000,000 units in its operating company, VNOM Holding Company LLC, from Oaktree affiliates, conditional on the offering completing. The filing also supplies unaudited pro forma 2025 results showing the Sitio deal (valued at about $4.0 billion, closed Aug 19, 2025) and the earlier Endeavor Drop-Down as if both happened on Jan 1, 2025; the figures in that exhibit were cut off in the text provided, so none are given here.
business combination

2025

19 Aug
The Sitio merger closed on August 19, 2025. The new holding company took the name Viper Energy, Inc. and continues to trade as VNOM on Nasdaq with a new CUSIP; the old Viper became VNOM Sub, Inc., a subsidiary. Old Viper shares converted one-for-one into new shares, Sitio Class A shares converted at 0.4855, and Sitio Class C shares were cancelled. This completes the deal announced in June.
business combination
30 June
Viper filed paperwork (through a new holding company, New Cobra Pubco) to register shares for its all-stock deal to acquire Sitio Royalties, signed June 2, 2025. Sitio Class A holders would get 0.4855 new Viper Class A shares each, and Viper holders get one new share per share held and would own about 80% of the combined company. Diamondback and its subsidiaries, holding about 53.7% of Viper's voting power, already approved it by written consent, so Viper shareholders are not being asked to vote.
business combination