Sept 6 (Reuters) - Sitio Royalties Corp said on Tuesday it would buy oil and gas rights company Brigham Minerals Inc in a $4.8-billion deal, as it looks to capitalise on the uptick in the energy markets following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Minerals companies such as Brigham sign agreements with landowners for the right to drill and keep any hydrocarbons they find, often paying an upfront fee and subsequent royalty payments to the landowner.
The equity value of the all-stock deal is $1.73 billion and it is expected to close by the first quarter of 2023.
Shares of Brigham, which owns the rights to extract oil and natural gas from land across numerous U.S. shale basins have risen nearly 40% this year giving it a market value of about $1.78 billion as the company has benefited from a 16% climb in U.S. crude prices this year.
Reuters exclusively reported last month that Brigham Minerals was exploring options that included a sale or a merger.
Sitio's purchase price of $28.57 per Brimgham share is at a 2.8% discount to Brigham's last close and could invite calls for a better offer from some shareholders.
Sitio and Brigham shareholders will own about 54% and 46% of the combined company, respectively.
Noam Lockshin, the current chairman of Sitio and a partner at private-equity firm Kimmeridge Energy Management, which owns 43.5% of Sitio's outstanding shares, would become chairman of the combined company after the deal closes.
The combined company will be based in Denver and operate under the name Sitio Royalties Corp.
Sitio, which focuses on investing in mineral and royalty interests in the Permian and other U.S. oil basins, saw its shares gain over 29% this year, giving it a market value of $2.1 billion.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
