Kirkland & Ellis is advising Caturus on a definitive agreement with SM Energy Company to acquire SM’s Galvan Ranch assets for a cash purchase price of $950 million. The acquisition includes approximately 60,000 of high quality net acres in South Texas and approximately 250 MMcfe/d of production from 260 producing wells (as of December 2025), with total pro forma net production of approximately 950 MMcfe/d at the time of closing. With Caturus’ acquisition of the Galvan Ranch assets, the company will hold more than 275,000 net acres across the Gulf Coast, and more than 15 years of premium inventory sitting at the front end of the North American cost curve. The Galvan Ranch transaction is expected to close in Q2 2026, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Read the transaction press release

The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Chad Smith, Shawn Beloin, Shubi Arora and Jhett Nelson; debt finance lawyers Rachael Lichman and James Kelly; capital markets lawyer Julian Seiguer; and tax lawyer Mark Dundon.