ONEOK to Acquire Brazos Midstream's Permian Midland Basin Assets in $4.43 Billion Deal

07:14 AM EDT, 08/31/2026 (MT Newswires) -- ONEOK (OKE) agreed to acquire Brazos Midstream's natural gas gathering and processing assets in the Permian Midland Basin in a deal worth roughly $4.43 billion, as the midstream operator aims to expand its energy infrastructure in the region. ONEOK plans to fund the acquisition through a separate $9 billion nonvoting minority equity investment in its business from funds and affiliates managed by Apollo Global Management (APO), the company said Sunday. The firm intends to use about $5 billion of proceeds from the Apollo investment to reduce its debt. Shares of ONEOK rose 0.7% in Monday's most recent premarket activity, while Apollo was slightly in the green. "This transaction demonstrates ONEOK's strategy of intentionally expanding and extending our integrated energy infrastructure," Chief Executive Pierce Norton II said in a statement. "The acquisition expands our scale in the Permian Midland Basin, advances our integrated wellhead-to-water strategy and strengthens connectivity across our natural gas and (natural gas liquid) value chain, positioning ONEOK to capture significant volume growth in one of the most economic and rapidly growing resource plays." The acquisition is projected to more than double ONEOK's Midland Basin processing capacity to roughly 2.3 billion cubic feet per day, including plants currently under construction. Following completion of the Cassidy II processing plant in the third quarter of 2027, the Brazos Midland system is expected to include 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of processing capacity across seven core Permian Midland Basin counties, according to ONEOK. ONEOK estimates the Brazos assets purchase to be immediately accretive to its earnings and free cash flow on a per-share basis. The company also expects about $80 million in full-year synergies from the transaction, which is also anticipated to help drive ONEOK towards the high end of its mid- to high-single-digit adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth target over the next five to seven years. The deal is expected to complete in the fourth quarter, ONEOK said. The company anticipates Apollo's minority equity investment to close in the first half of September. "This transaction reflects Apollo's ability to deliver flexible, high-grade capital solutions at scale, structured around ONEOK's long-term strategic objectives," according to Apollo Partner Jamshid Ehsani. Earlier in August, ONEOK reported second-quarter earnings of $1.53 a share, up from $1.34 the year before. At the time, the company said it expected EPS of $5.68 at the midpoint for 2026, while the current consensus on FactSet is for $5.77.