Vitesse Energy, Inc. VTS has successfully completed its $222 million all-stock acquisition of Lucero Energy, marking a significant expansion in the Bakken shale region. With this acquisition, Lucero becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Vitesse, strengthening its position as an oil-weighted company with both operated and non-operated assets.
The deal was approved by the shareholders of Vitesse Energy and Lucero Energy as well as the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in March 2025.
With the completion of the arrangement, the Vitesse shares issued to holders of Lucero shares will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange and the Lucero shares will be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange and the OTCQB Market.
Details of the Deal
The acquisition deal, announced in December 2024, stated that Vitesse Energy will acquire Lucero Energy in an all-stock deal valued at $222 million. Under the terms of the agreement, each common share of Lucero has the right to receive 0.01239 of a share of Vitesse common stock.
Lucero will bring approximately 6,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) of two-stream net production, along with valuable drilling opportunities. This expansion provides Vitesse with accretive benefits in earnings, operating cash flow, free cash flow and net asset value. The acquisition is also expected to increase Vitesse’s dividend and will provide additional liquidity to the company to make accretive acquisitions in the future.
Vitesse now has access to two drilled, uncompleted wells and up to 50 additional locations in the core of the Bakken shale. To manage risk, the company plans to hedge a significant portion of Lucero’s oil production through the end of 2026.
Leadership Impact
Vitesse expects to generate approximately $3 million in annual administrative synergies from the acquisition. Additionally, Gary Reaves and M. Bruce Chernoff, two members of Lucero’s board, have joined the Vitesse board, expanding it to nine directors. The leadership team remains unchanged, ensuring continuity in operations and strategy.
VTS’ Zacks Rank and Key Picks
U.S.-based Vitesse Energy is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of non-operated oil and natural gas properties. Currently, VTS has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in the energy sector might look at some top-ranked stocks like Delek Logistics Partners, LP DKL, Archrock, Inc. AROC and Coterra Energy Inc. CTRA. While Delek Logistics and Archrock currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, Coterra Energy carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Delek Logistics Partners owns, operates, acquires and constructs crude oil and refined products logistics and marketing assets. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DKL’s 2025 earnings indicates 34.45% year-over-year growth.
Houston-based Archrock is a provider of natural gas contract compression services as well as a supplier of aftermarket services for compression equipment. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AROC’s 2025 earnings indicates 46.67% year-over-year growth.
Houston, TX-based Coterra Energy is an independent upstream operator engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTRA’s 2025 earnings indicates 97.62% year-over-year growth.
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Vitesse Energy, Inc. (VTS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
