Magnolia Oil & Gas to Buy WildFire Energy for $4.06 Billion
The Giddings operator said the deal more than doubles its net acreage and creates a dominant Eagle Ford/Austin Chalk position in South Texas.
Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation (MGY) entered a definitive agreement to acquire WildFire Energy for about $4.06 billion, inclusive of WildFire’s debt and subject to customary purchase-price adjustments.
The Houston-based independent producer said the deal will more than double its Giddings acreage and combine two high-quality, complementary assets near Gulf Coast markets. Magnolia’s board approved the acquisition unanimously.
The combined company would hold more than 1.25 million net acres, with upside across the Austin Chalk, Eagle Ford and Woodbine. WildFire’s assets span about 810,000 net acres, mostly contiguous, in Brazos, Burleson, Fayette, Grimes, Lee, Madison, Milam, Robertson and Washington counties, Texas. For the three months ended June 30, 2026, the seller’s production was expected at 53 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, about 70% oil, from the Eagle Ford, Austin Chalk and Woodbine. Proved developed reserves at year-end 2025 included about 100.3 million barrels of oil and 139.8 million barrels of oil equivalent in total; proved reserves were about 196.5 million barrels of oil and 271.2 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Chairman, President and CEO Chris Stavros called the WildFire properties a natural and strategic fit that extends Magnolia’s runway of advantaged profitability and free cash flow. He said the transaction is the culmination of the company’s subsurface understanding and its resource capture in the Giddings field.
Magnolia said the deal is highly accretive to operating margins, cash flow, free cash flow per share and earnings per share. It estimated annual run-rate synergy capture of more than $100 million by year-end 2027, from drilling and completions, field operations and corporate overhead, with a PV-10 of about $700 million. The company said it expects net debt to EBITDA of 1.0 times or less by year-end 2027.
The purchase price is funded with a balanced mix of cash and equity, including 32.2 million shares of Magnolia Class A common stock to WildFire owners. Closing is anticipated late in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Magnolia raised its quarterly cash dividend 9% to $0.18 a share, payable September 1, 2026, to holders of record August 10, 2026, an annualized $0.72 a share. The increase was announced with the acquisition. The company said it expects to keep buying at least 1% of outstanding shares a quarter after closing.