Shares of Diamondback Energy Inc. FANG, -0.73% rose 0.7% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the oil and natural gas company announced an agreement to buy all leasehold interest and related assets of FireBird Energy LLC for about $1.59 billion in cash and stock. Under terms of the deal announced late Tuesday, Diamondback will exchange 5.86 million of its common stock, which closed Tuesday at $139.37, and $775 million in cash for the Midland Basin assets. “This bolt-on acquisition adds significant, high-quality inventory right in our backyard,” said Diamondback Chief Executive Travis Stice. Analyst Gabriele Sorbara at Siebert Williams Shank said based on conversations with investors and recent share-price underperformance, she believes merger and acquisition (M&A) risks have been weighing on the stock, so she believes the stock will get a boost as the overhang has been lifted as given that the deal “screens well acroll all key metrics.” The stock has rallied 29.2% year to date through Tuesday but the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF XLE, -0.48% has run up 43.2%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.21% has tumbled 24.7% this year.
