Crescent Energy to Buy Devon Eagle Ford Assets for $4.2 Billion
Devon said the cash sale high-grades its portfolio and sharpens focus on highest-return, longest-duration assets after the Coterra merger.
Crescent Energy Company (CRGY) agreed to buy Devon Energy’s Eagle Ford assets for $4.2 billion in cash, an asset-purchase deal the shale producer said would close around year-end 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Devon said the sale high-grades its portfolio, monetizes at an attractive valuation and enhances financial flexibility. The transaction was a direct outcome of an ongoing portfolio review. “This sale is a direct outcome of our ongoing portfolio review, and it sharpens our focus on the highest-return, longest-duration assets,” said Clay Gaspar, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The cash consideration sits alongside a larger reshaping of Devon’s book. On February 2, 2026, Devon and Coterra Energy (CTRA) signed a definitive agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction that would create a large-cap shale operator anchored by a premier position in the economic core of the Delaware Basin. Coterra shareholders were to receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.70 Devon shares for each Coterra share. Stockholders of both companies approved the merger at special meetings on May 4, 2026, and the combination closed on May 7, 2026. The combined company operates under the name Devon Energy, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under DVN, and is headquartered in Houston with a significant presence in Oklahoma City.
Gaspar described the Coterra combination as a defining moment that brought together two operators with histories of operational excellence to create a company with scale, inventory depth and financial strength. The merger was expected to unlock value through $1 billion in annual pre-tax synergies, technology-driven capital efficiency and optimized capital allocation. Devon later said it projected to reach 100 percent of that $1 billion annual pre-tax free cash flow improvement target well ahead of schedule.
After the merger, Devon continued to add Delaware Basin inventory. On May 21, 2026, it acquired 16,300 net undeveloped acres in the core of the basin in Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico, for approximately $2.6 billion, or about $161,500 per net acre, through a Bureau of Land Management lease sale. The company said the purchase adds about 400 net locations normalized to 2-mile laterals, carries an 87.5% net revenue interest on 10-year federal terms, and is expected to be funded with cash on hand while maintaining its credit profile.
The Eagle Ford sale is the next step in that same high-grading sequence. Devon had already reached an agreement with BPX to dissolve its partnership in the Eagle Ford, as disclosed in its February 2025 results. The $4.2 billion cash exit of remaining Eagle Ford assets to Crescent completes that monetization and is expected to close around year-end 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Proceeds are expected to enhance financial flexibility as Devon concentrates capital on the Delaware Basin core and other longest-duration positions.