PERMIAN BASIN ROYALTY TRUST ANNOUNCES AUGUST CASH DISTRIBUTION AND EXCESS COST POSITION ON WADDELL RANCH PROPERTIES
Rhea-AI Summary
Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: PBT), with Argent Trust Company as Trustee, declared an August 2026 cash distribution of $0.018701 per unit, or $871,663.17 in total, payable on September 15, 2026 to unitholders of record on August 31, 2026.
The distribution excludes proceeds from the Waddell Ranch properties because July production costs exceeded gross proceeds, creating a continuing excess cost position that must be recovered before future Waddell Ranch distributions. Current cash flow is therefore entirely from the Texas Royalty Properties, which generated July revenues of $1,544,865 and net profit of $1,395,216, contributing $1,325,455 to this month’s distribution.
General and administrative expenses net of interest were $453,792, including a $250,000 increase to the expense reserve. The distribution decreased versus July, primarily due to the prior month’s one-time $1,125,000 settlement payment from Blackbeard Operating and lower Texas Royalty natural gas volumes and oil pricing.
Positive
- $0.018701 per-unit cash distribution declared for August 2026
- Texas Royalty Properties revenues of $1,544,865 and net profit of $1,395,216
- Texas Royalty Properties contributed $1,325,455 to August cash distribution
- Average realized oil price of $93.10 per barrel from Texas Royalty Properties
- Average realized gas price of $9.55 per Mcf, including NGL pricing
Negative
- No July proceeds from Waddell Ranch; production costs exceeded gross proceeds
- Waddell Ranch remains in an excess cost position delaying future Trust distributions from that asset
- August distribution lower than prior month without $1,125,000 settlement payment
- Texas Royalty Properties had lower natural gas volumes and oil pricing versus prior month
- General and administrative expenses of $453,792, including $250,000 reserve increase, reduced distributable cash
News Explained
The proposed combination would move Trust assets into New PBT, but it remains vote-dependent and has no stated exchange terms here.
SoftVest and its affiliates have entered a definitive agreement with Blackbeard Holdings to combine the Trust’s assets with Blackbeard Holdings’ oil, gas, mineral-interest, and land operations, but completion still requires a Trust unitholder vote.
If completed, the transaction would place those combined assets in a new public company, PBT Land and Minerals, Inc.; the contemplated structural change is therefore not completed ownership restructuring today.
The Form S-4 contains voting materials for the special meeting, while the Form S-1 registers New PBT securities for a rights offering; registration by itself does not sell securities.
The release does not state the consideration, exchange ratio, or resulting ownership effect, so its economic effect on existing unitholders cannot yet be established from this disclosure.
The stated next milestones are the later announcement of the special-meeting record and meeting dates and any relevant Form S-4 or Form S-1 amendments.
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28 | Combination agreement notice | Positive | +4.1% | Trust assets proposed for combination with Blackbeard-related mineral and land operations |
| Jul 28 | Combination agreement | Positive | +4.1% | Approximately $2.24 billion combination announced with ownership and financing terms |
| Jul 21 | July cash distribution | Positive | +0.2% | Higher distribution included a $1.125 million Blackbeard settlement payment |
| Jun 18 | June cash distribution | Neutral | -1.7% | Texas Royalties funded payout while Waddell Ranch remained in excess costs |
| May 19 | SoftVest proposal | Positive | +3.7% | Preliminary business combination proposal involving Blackbeard assets and New PubCo |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
PBT's recent reactions were mixed, with combination announcements gaining while distribution-focused updates produced smaller or negative reactions.
Key Terms
net profits interest financial
rights offering financial
form s-4 regulatory
form s-1 regulatory
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
This month's distribution decreased compared to the previous month due primarily to the fourth settlement payment in the amount of
WADDELL RANCH
Information from Blackbeard Operating, LLC ("Blackbeard"), the operator of the Waddell Ranch properties, necessary to calculate the net profits interest ("NPI") proceeds for a given month is received after the announcement date for the month's distribution. As a result, in accordance with the Trust indenture, if NPI proceeds are received from the Waddell Ranch properties on or prior to the record date, they will be included in the following month's distribution.
As noted above, no proceeds were received by the Trustee in July 2026 to be included in the August distribution. All excess costs, including any accrued interest, will need to be recovered by future proceeds from the Waddell Ranch properties before any proceeds are distributed to the Trust. Due to the fact that Blackbeard provides production, pricing and cost information quarterly instead of monthly, the Trustee will be disclosing that information in the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual reports on Form 10-K for the foreseeable future (to the extent timely received from Blackbeard).
TEXAS ROYALTY PROPERTIES
Production for the underlying Texas Royalty Properties was 15,959 barrels of oil and 6,193 Mcf of gas. The production for the Trust's allocated portion of the Texas Royalty Properties was 14,405 barrels of oil and 5,581 Mcf of gas. The average price for oil was
Underlying Properties | Net to Trust Sales | |||||
Volumes | Volumes | Average Price | ||||
Oil (bbls) | Gas (Mcf) | Oil (bbls) | Gas (Mcf) (1) | Oil (per bbl) | Gas (per Mcf) (2) | |
Current Month | ||||||
Waddell Ranch | (3) | (3) | (3) | (3) | (3) | (3) |
Texas Royalties | 15,959 | 6,193 | 14,405 | 5,581 | ||
Prior Month | ||||||
Waddell Ranch | (3) | (3) | (3) | (3) | (3) | (3) |
Texas Royalties | 15,307 | 6,545 | 13,842 | 5,923 | ||
(1) These volumes are net to the Trust, after allocation of expenses to Trust's net profit interest, including any prior period adjustments. |
General and Administrative Expenses deducted for the month, net of interest earned were
The worldwide market conditions continue to affect the pricing for domestic production. It is difficult to predict what effect these conditions will have on future distributions.
SOFTVEST PROPOSAL
As previously disclosed, the Trustee was notified by SoftVest, L.P. ("SoftVest"), a Unitholder of the Trust, that on July 28, 2026, SoftVest and certain of its affiliates entered into a definitive Combination Agreement with Blackbeard Holdings, LLC and certain of its affiliates ("Blackbeard Holdings") pursuant to which they propose to combine the assets of the Trust and certain oil and natural gas mineral interest and land operations owned by Blackbeard Holdings to create a new publicly traded corporation, PBT Land and Minerals, Inc. ("New PBT") (the "Business Combination"). Completion of the Business Combination is subject to a vote of Trust Unitholders. SoftVest and certain other unitholders representing in excess of
Neither the Trust, nor the Trustee is a party to the Combination Agreement, nor is the Trust or the Trustee soliciting proxies or participating in any offering of securities. The Trustee is not making any recommendation to Trust Unitholders as to how to vote with respect to the Business Combination or other proposals at the special meeting. Unitholders will be notified of the record date and meeting date for the special meeting at a later date.
The 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K/A, which includes the December 31, 2025, Reserve Summary, has been filed with the Securities Exchange Commission. Permian's cash distribution history, current and prior year financial reports, tax information booklets, and a link to filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all can be found on Permian's website at http://www.pbt-permian.com/. Additionally, printed reports can be requested and are mailed free of charge.
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
This press release is not a proxy solicitation. None of the Trust, the Trustee, or the Trustee's officers or directors, are soliciting proxies in connection with any special meeting of Trust unitholders and are not participants in any solicitation of proxies by New PBT, SoftVest and/or other unitholders in connection with any special meeting. The Trust and the Trustee are not making any offering of securities. The Trustee and the Trust are making this communication for informational purposes only and do not intend to file a proxy statement or registration statement with respect to the proposed Business Combination.
New PBT has filed (i) a registration statement on Form S-4, which includes a proxy statement relating to a meeting of Trust unitholders and a prospectus of New PBT, and (ii) a Form S-1 registering securities of New PBT with respect to the rights offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Unitholders and other investors are strongly encouraged to read the Form S-4, including the proxy statement/prospectus, the Form S-1, any amendments to the Form S-4 and/or Form S-1, and any other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission when they become available because they will contain important information. Unitholders may obtain a free copy of any Form S-4, proxy statement/prospectus, Form S-1, and any amendments and documents that New PBT or SoftVest files with the SEC from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Any statements in this press release about future events or conditions, and other statements containing the words "estimates," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," "may," "intends," and similar expressions, other than historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Factors or risks that could cause the Trust's actual results to differ materially from the results the Trustee anticipates include, but are not limited to the factors described in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of the Trust's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2025, and Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as well as factors related to actions by SoftVest or other unitholders, New PBT, Blackbeard Holdings, or other third parties, including courts, that are not within the control of the Trust or the Trustee.
Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Trustee's views as of the date hereof. The Trustee anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change. However, while the Trustee may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Trustee's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
Contact: Nancy Willis, Director of Royalty Trust Services, Argent Trust Company, Trustee, Toll Free – 1.855.588.7839
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SOURCE Permian Basin Royalty Trust