Akin Gump Advises Viper Energy Partners in Midland Basin Acquisition

(Houston) – Viper Energy Partners LP, a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc., today announced it has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement to acquire certain mineral and royalty interests from Swallowtail Royalties LLC and Swallowtail Royalties II LLC in exchange for 15.25 million units of Viper common stock and $225 million of cash, subject to customary adjustments. A team from Akin Gump advised Viper in the transaction.

The cash portion of the deal, which covers 2,302 net royalty acres primarily in the Northern Midland Basin with roughly 65 percent of the acreage operated by Diamondback, is expected to be funded through a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under Viper’s credit facility. Closing is anticipated by early in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to continued diligence and closing conditions.

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The Akin Gump team advising Viper was led by oil and gas partner Stephen Boone and corporate partner John Goodgame. Others involved included:

• Corporate senior counsel Irina Maistrenko.
• Oil and gas senior practice attorney Shane Sullivan and associate Katherine Raymond.
• Tax partner Alison Chen.
• Antitrust partner Haidee Schwartz and senior counsel Paul Hewitt.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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