History
Crescent Energy was formed in 2021 by merging a KKR-backed private producer with Contango, then grew through a string of acquisitions, culminating in the 2025 Vital Energy merger.
2021-2022: Formation and a first Utah deal
Crescent Energy began as a combination of two businesses: Contango Oil & Gas, which was already listed, and Independence Energy LLC, a private oil and gas producer backed by KKR. The first registration statement, filed in July 2021, offered Contango holders 0.2000 shares of the new company for each Contango share. Independence's owners were to end up with roughly 75% of the combined equity, plus all of the Class B stock, which carries no economics but does carry control. Contango holders had no dissenters' rights, and Jefferies gave their board the only fairness opinion.
An October 2021 amendment set out what the KKR-affiliated external manager would be paid: incentive compensation in five annual tranches, each targeting 2% of the Class A shares and settling anywhere from 0% to 240% of that, alongside a $53.3 million fee carve-out. It also disclosed a fifth shareholder suit over the deal and admitted that 12,613 MBoe of Independence's proved undeveloped reserves had a negative value at SEC prices.
The exchange cleared the shares for listing on 7 December 2021 and the combination closed the next day. The company, now Crescent Energy Company, was backed by KKR, Liberty Energy and the Goff family. In February 2022 it agreed to buy Utah assets, originally EP Energy's, from Verdun Oil Company II, and completed the purchase in April, amending its credit facility as part of the deal.
2023-2024: Eagle Ford and SilverBow
The record for 2023 is about debt and a second acquisition. In February, Crescent's finance subsidiary issued $400 million of 9.250% senior notes due 2028, a markedly higher coupon than its 2021 and 2022 notes. In May it agreed to buy Eagle Ford assets from Mesquite Comanche Holdings and SN EF Maverick for about $600 million in cash, and it closed the deal in July.
In March 2024 Crescent refinanced its original formation-era debt. It issued 7.625% notes due 2032 and, together with a tender offer, redeemed all the 2026 notes, which discharged the original 2021 indenture.
In May 2024 it agreed to acquire SilverBow Resources, a fellow Eagle Ford operator, and amended its management fee arrangement with KKR Energy Assets Manager. Each SilverBow holder could elect 3.125 Crescent shares, or 1.866 shares plus $15.31 in cash, or $38.00 in cash, with total cash capped at $400 million. Crescent raised $750 million of 7.375% notes due 2033 in June to fund the cash portion and repay SilverBow's borrowings. SilverBow holders would own 21-31% of Crescent. Crescent shareholders approved the share issuance with about 99.94% of votes cast, and the merger closed at the end of July 2024.
2024-2025: Ridgemar
On 3 December 2024 Crescent agreed to buy Ridgemar (Eagle Ford) LLC for $805 million in cash plus up to 7,272,728 Class A shares, with up to $170 million of earn-out payments tied to oil prices in 2026-2027. It also announced an underwritten offering of 18,000,000 shares, with an option for up to 2,700,000 more, and capped the extra KKR management fee from the new shares at $5.0 million.
The deal closed on 31 January 2025 for $830 million in cash and about 5.45 million shares, with the earn-out still up to $170 million. In July 2025 the finance subsidiary issued $600 million of unsecured 8.375% notes due 2034. They were dearer than the 2024 notes but below the 9.25% paid in 2023.
2025-2026: Vital Energy and a convertible
In August 2025 Crescent agreed to acquire Vital Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $3.1 billion including net debt. Vital holders would receive 1.9062 Crescent shares per Vital share, worth about $18.95 a share at signing, and would own about 23% of the combined company. Break fees were set at $76.9 million against Crescent and $22.5 million against Vital. The filing also warned that the deal could trigger change-of-control rights under Vital's three note issues if the ratings agencies downgraded them. A voting agreement locked up the sponsor group's shares.
The merger closed on 15 December 2025, creating a top-10 independent producer spanning the Eagle Ford, Permian and Uinta basins. Shares on issue were 254,631,591 at the end of 2025 and 330,403,696 in the 2026 figure, though the record does not explain that change.
On 9 March 2026 Crescent issued $690 million of 2.75% convertible senior notes due March 2031, including a fully exercised $90 million extra allotment. The notes convert at about $14.89 a share, a premium of about 32.5% to the $11.24 price on 3 March. Crescent paid about $57 million for capped call transactions with a $22.48 cap, designed to reduce potential dilution. The filing as excerpted does not say how the proceeds will be used. At that date the Ridgemar earn-out was still payable through 2026-2027.
Written from the 23 story beats below (2021 to 9 Mar 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.