Western Midstream Partners, LP (WES) entered a merger agreement on August 6, 2025, to acquire Aris Water Solutions, Inc. (ARIS) in a deal valued at $2 billion.
Aris shareholders may elect to receive 0.625 Western Midstream common units, $25 in cash, or a combination of both, for each share of Aris common stock held, with the cash consideration being subject to proration to ensure that the total cash consideration paid by Western Midstream will not exceed $415 million of the aggregate merger consideration.
In the aggregate, Western Midstream expects to issue approximately 26.6 million common units and pay roughly $415 million in cash, assuming maximum cash consideration, resulting in a total consideration mix of roughly 72% equity and 28% cash.
The cash consideration of $25 per share represents a 25.44% premium from the stock’s last close.
Aris Water Solutions is a Houston-based environmental infrastructure company that provides full-cycle water handling and recycling solutions to support sustainable oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin.
Western Midstream is a Texas-based midstream energy company that acquires, develops, and operates assets for gathering, processing, transporting, and disposing of natural gas, crude oil, NGLs, and produced water across key U.S. basins.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Aris brings to Western Midstream a robust water infrastructure portfolio, including 790 miles of pipeline, 1,800 MBbls/d of handling capacity, 1,400 MBbls/d of recycling capacity, and 625,000 dedicated acres under long-term contracts. With average contract tenors of 8–10 years, Aris complements Western Midstream’s existing 830-mile pipeline and 2,035 MBbls/d disposal capacity, along with the Pathfinder project.
The integration expands Western Midstream’s footprint into Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico, unlocking new throughput opportunities across all segments. Additionally, Aris’s McNeill Ranch acquisition offers long-term flow assurance and commercial growth in the Delaware Basin.
“The addition of the Aris assets better positions Western Midstream to provide enhanced flow assurance to our producing customers in West Texas while expanding Western Midstream’s commercial relationships with some of the top E&P (Exploration and Production) operators in the New Mexico portion of the Delaware Basin,” said Western Midstream CEO Oscar Brown.
As part of the deal, Aris shareholders will own about 7% of Western Midstream’s total common units.
Citi served as financial advisor, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher provided legal counsel to Aris Water Solutions. BofA Securities acted as financial advisor, and Vinson & Elkins served as legal counsel to Western Midstream Partners.
Western Midstream is paying 7.93 times EBITDA for Aris Water.
For a deeper dive into the specifics of this M&A transaction, please visit the Deal Metrics page here:
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– A spread history chart of the merger from announcement through eventual completion or failure.
– Every event as the merger progresses through the expiration of the HSR period, various regulatory approvals, shareholder votes, etc.
– News and SEC filings.
– A history of deal updates.
– And a whole lot more.
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Editor’s Note: Baranjot Kaur contributed to this article