Western Midstream Partners (WES) will acquire Aris Water Solutions (Aris) in a $1.5 billion equity and cash transaction. Aris shareholders can choose to receive either 0.625 WES standard units per share or $25 in cash per share, with a total cash limit of $415 million. The deal offers a 10% premium over Aris’s 30-day VWAP and 23% over its August 5, 2025, closing price, with an enterprise value of approximately $2 billion.
The agreement, approved by both boards, is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and is expected to close in Q4 2025. Aris brings extensive water infrastructure assets, including 790 miles of pipeline, significant water handling and recycling capacity, and long-term contracts, which complement WES’s existing operations. The merger expands WES’s footprint into New Mexico, creating new growth opportunities.
On closing, Aris shareholders will own about 7% of WES. WES will also assume $500 million of Aris’s senior notes. Support agreements are in place with holders of approximately 42% of Aris shares, who are committed to voting in favor of the transaction.
Advisors: BofA Securities served as financial advisor and Vinson & Elkins served as legal advisor to WES. And Citi served as financial advisor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher served as legal advisor to Aris. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell served as legal advisor to Aris’s Audit Committee.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are excited to announce the strategic combination with Aris, which aligns with our strategy of acquiring high-quality midstream assets that complement and expand our existing network.”
“Aris has a strong track record of growth and operational performance in the Delaware Basin. The combination of our assets creates a leading produced-water gathering, disposal, and recycling business that can meet the flow assurance needs of customers as they execute on their decades’ worth of drilling inventory. The addition of the Aris assets better positions WES to provide enhanced flow assurance to our producing customers in West Texas while expanding WES’s commercial relationships with some of the top E&P operators in the New Mexico portion of the Delaware Basin, providing significant customer diversification and incremental opportunities for business development.”
“The McNeill Ranch, previously purchased by Aris, provides upside to our acquisition case through increased produced-water disposal capacity and other surface use opportunities. Further, Aris has valuable expertise in beneficial reuse and desalination technologies, and we are excited to be able to accelerate the research and advancement of these evolving technologies with greater access to efficient capital and economies of scale.”
“We look forward to welcoming Aris’s talented employees and dedicated investor base to our partnership. WES is proud to provide sector-leading return of capital to its unitholders through its tax-deferred distribution framework. Coupled with our long-term contract structure, investment-grade balance sheet, and with net leverage of approximately 3.0x, we offer a compelling investment opportunity to Aris shareholders and a platform to accelerate growth over the coming years.”
Oscar Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of WES
“Today’s transaction marks a significant milestone in Aris’s journey, and we are excited to join forces with WES. Since our founding in 2015, Aris has been dedicated to developing a sustainable produced-water infrastructure platform focused on gathering, disposal, and recycling activities for some of the largest operators in the Permian Basin. The combination of Aris and WES creates a premier midstream water-solutions provider of scale that is better positioned to deliver a variety of water services, provide critical flow assurance for natural-gas and crude-oil production activities, and generate strong returns for our shareholders through WES’s leading distribution policy and attentive focus on executing accretive growth projects. I am extremely proud of our team’s efforts and accomplishments and look forward to seeing the combined company grow.”
Amanda Brock, President and CEO of Aris
