Kirkland Advises SM Energy Company and Northern Oil and Gas on Acquisition of Oil and Gas Assets from XCL Resources

Kirkland & Ellis advised SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) on an agreement to acquire the Uinta Basin oil and gas assets owned by certain entities affiliated with XCL Resources, LLC, a private company backed by EnCap Investments L.P. and Rice Investment Group, for an unadjusted purchase price of $2.55 billion. Concurrently, Kirkland advised Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) on its acquisition of an undivided 20% of the oil and gas assets of XCL for $510 million, resulting in a $2.04 billion purchase price net to SM Energy for an undivided 80% interest of the assets. SM Energy intends to serve as the operator of the assets currently operated by XCL.

The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners David Castro Jr., William Eiland and Lindsey Jaquillard and associates Matt Gibson, Mitch Holliman, Lyle Paul and Jake Johnson; and included corporate associates Skyler Sikes and Clayton Hart; tax partners Mark Dundon and Jacob Walley and associate Brooke Schafer; antitrust partners Chuck Boyars and Matt Wheatley; and environmental transactions partner Jonathan Kidwell and associate Courtney Tibbetts. Representing SM Energy on financing were debt finance partners Will Bos and Chad Davis and capital markets partners Matt Pacey and Anthony Sanderson.