CRC to Buy Berry Corp, Doubling Down on Kern County Scale

Group 1: Acquisition Details - California Resources Corp. (CRC) plans to acquire Berry Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at $717 million, with Berry shareholders receiving a 15% premium on their shares [1][2] - The merger has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals [1] Group 2: Company Performance and Synergies - CRC has undergone a significant turnaround, exiting bankruptcy in 2020 with $5 billion of debt erased and restoring profitability, followed by the acquisition of Aera Energy for $2.1 billion [2] - The combined company is projected to produce approximately 161,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in Q2, with about 81% being oil [2] - CRC anticipates annual synergies of $80–90 million from the merger, representing about 12% of the deal value, primarily from overlapping corporate functions and operational efficiencies [3] Group 3: Regulatory Environment - Recent legislation in Kern County, including SB 237, allows for the approval of up to 2,000 new drilling permits annually, a significant increase from only 84 permits issued in 2024 [4] - Another bill, SB 614, aims to lift the moratorium on CO2 pipelines, which supports CRC's Carbon Terra Vault joint venture, crucial for scaling its carbon management business [4]