History
A 2017 blank-check company bought Royal Resources' mineral and royalty businesses in 2018, then grew through 2022 deals before becoming a subsidiary in the December 2022 Brigham merger.
2017-2018: A blank-check beginning
The company began as Osprey Energy Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company, meaning a shell raised money to buy a business later. Its securities were cleared for trading on Nasdaq on July 20, 2017, and on July 26 it closed its IPO, selling 25,000,000 units at $10.00 each for $250,000,000. Each unit was one Class A share plus one-half warrant, a right to buy more shares later. The sponsor bought 7,000,000 private warrants at $1.00 each, and the $250,000,000 went into a trust account, released only on a business combination or if shares were redeemed after 24 months without one.
On June 3, 2018, Osprey agreed to acquire the Royal Resources minerals and royalty businesses for $800 million: $400 million in cash and 40 million Opco units valued at $10.00 each. Royal could earn up to 20 million more units if the share price reached $12.50 and $15.00. To fund part of the cash, the proxy statement proposed selling 11,480,000 Class A shares for $114,800,000. Public holders could redeem their shares for cash from the trust, at about $10.06 per share on an illustrative basis, even if they voted yes.
The deal closed on August 23, 2018, and Osprey became Falcon Minerals Corporation, holding its business through an operating partnership in an "Up-C" structure. It had an 11-seat board, six seats going to Blackstone designees, and Opco signed a Citibank credit facility of up to $500.0 million, with a $115.0 million borrowing base, of which $38.0 million was drawn at closing. The filings do not show the final redemption level.
2019-2021: A quiet stretch and a restatement
The record is quiet for almost three years. The one major event came on May 4, 2021, when the audit committee concluded that the 2018-2020 financial statements should no longer be relied on. After an SEC staff statement, the 2017 warrants had to be counted as liabilities rather than equity. Preliminary restated net income attributable to shareholders was $7,700 thousand for 2020 (previously $2,572 thousand), $20,419 thousand for 2019 and $117,925 thousand for 2018. Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow were unaffected, and the warrant terms had not changed.
2022: Desert Peak and a buying spree
On January 11, 2022, Falcon agreed to merge with DPM HoldCo, LLC (Desert Peak). Desert Peak's owners were to receive 235,000,000 Class C shares and the same number of Opco units, adjusted for a planned 4-for-1 reverse stock split. The deal closed on June 7, 2022, after the split took effect on June 3, and Falcon became Sitio Royalties Corp. Desert Peak's owners received 61,905,339 Class C shares and matching Opco units after the split. Existing Class A holders kept their shares but were diluted to about 16.1% of the company, with Kimmeridge holding about 43.5%, Blackstone about 25.0% and Source about 15.4%. The company moved to Denver and planned a transfer to the NYSE.
Growth continued quickly. On June 24 it closed the Foundation Minerals purchase of about 19,700 net royalty acres for roughly $323 million, helped by a fully drawn $250,000,000 bridge loan, a short-term loan due in 364 days. It also agreed to buy about 12,200 net royalty acres from Momentum Minerals for about $224 million. That deal closed on July 26, funded by a $175 million draw on the bridge loan, revolver borrowings and cash, leaving $425 million outstanding on the bridge.
On September 21, Sitio OpCo issued $450 million of senior unsecured notes due in 2026 and used part of the proceeds to repay the bridge loan in full. The notes carried a margin of 6.50% over adjusted Term SOFR, a benchmark interest rate, falling to 5.75% after the Brigham merger closed.
2022-2025: The Brigham merger and the end of this entity
On September 6, 2022, Sitio announced an all-stock merger with Brigham Minerals, described in the press release as worth $4.8 billion. Each Brigham share would convert into 1.133 shares of a new parent and each Sitio share into one, leaving Sitio holders with about 54% and Brigham holders about 46%. The board would have nine directors, five from Sitio and four from Brigham. Holders of about 83.7% of Sitio's voting power signed support agreements.
Brigham's stockholders approved the merger on December 28, 2022, and it closed on December 29. The company, formerly Sitio Royalties Corp., became STR Sub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of New Sitio, which took the Sitio Royalties Corp. name. Trading in its stock was suspended after December 28, and its warrants became exercisable for New Sitio Class A shares. The credit agreement was amended to keep the borrowing base at $300 million, and certain Brigham subsidiaries had to become restricted subsidiaries by June 30, 2023, which also delayed the notes' margin step-down. On January 9, 2023, STR Sub Inc. deregistered its securities, ending its obligation to file reports with the SEC. A further exchange removal filing followed on August 19, 2025.
Written from the 25 story beats below (2017 to 19 Aug 2025), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.