Vital Energy Stock Price, News & Analysis
Company Description
Vital Energy, Inc. (formerly known as Laredo Petroleum, Inc.) was an independent energy company focused on crude petroleum and natural gas extraction. According to company disclosures, Vital Energy was headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma and its business strategy centered on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas. The company’s common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VTLE and was classified in the crude petroleum and natural gas extraction industry within the broader mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector.
Business focus and operating area
Vital Energy described itself as an independent energy company with a strategy focused on acquiring, exploring and developing oil and natural gas properties. Its operating focus was the Permian Basin of West Texas, a major U.S. oil and gas producing region. The company’s public communications repeatedly emphasized this basin-focused strategy and the development of oil and natural gas properties there.
In its public "About Vital Energy" descriptions, the company highlighted that its activities were directed toward oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin. This basin orientation framed how investors and analysts evaluated the company’s operations, capital investments and production trends as disclosed in its earnings releases and related SEC filings.
Corporate history and transformation
Vital Energy has a documented corporate evolution. An SEC Form 8-K filed on December 15, 2025 notes that on July 16, 2021, Vital, formerly known as Laredo Petroleum, Inc., issued senior notes, indicating that the company previously operated under the Laredo Petroleum name before adopting the Vital Energy identity. Over time, Vital Energy continued to operate as an independent energy company with its stock listed on the NYSE as VTLE.
A major corporate change occurred through an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated August 24, 2025 between Vital Energy, Inc. and Crescent Energy Company, along with Crescent’s merger subsidiaries. Under this merger agreement, Crescent agreed to acquire Vital in an all-equity transaction. The structure involved a first-step merger of a Crescent subsidiary with Vital, followed by a second-step merger in which the surviving Vital entity merged into another Crescent subsidiary.
Acquisition by Crescent Energy and end of separate listing
According to a Form 8-K dated December 15, 2025, Vital completed its previously announced transaction with Crescent Energy Company on December 15, 2025. At the effective time of the first merger, each share of Vital common stock (other than specified excluded shares) was converted into the right to receive 1.9062 shares of Crescent Class A common stock, with cash paid in lieu of fractional shares. Following the second merger, the surviving limited liability company remained a Crescent subsidiary.
The same Form 8-K explains that, prior to completion of the mergers, Vital’s common stock was listed and traded on the NYSE under the symbol VTLE. In connection with the closing, Vital notified the NYSE that the mergers had been consummated and requested suspension of trading and withdrawal of the listing of Vital common stock before the market opened on December 15, 2025. The NYSE then filed a Form 25 to report the delisting of Vital’s common stock from the exchange and to deregister it under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act.
A separate Form 25 filed on December 15, 2025 identifies Vital Energy, Inc. as the issuer and the New York Stock Exchange LLC as the exchange, and specifies that the class of securities being removed from listing and registration is Vital’s common stock. This confirms that VTLE was removed from NYSE listing as part of the merger process.
Deregistration and end of separate corporate existence
On December 29, 2025, a Form 15 was filed by Crescent Energy Finance LLC as successor in interest to Vital Energy, Inc. The filing states that, on December 15, 2025, Crescent acquired Vital in an all-equity transaction through the two-step merger structure described in the merger agreement. It further explains that immediately following the consummation of the mergers, Crescent effected an internal reorganization in which the Vital successor entity was ultimately merged with and into Crescent Energy Finance LLC.
The Form 15 notes that the separate corporate existence of Vital ended upon consummation of the second merger on December 15, 2025. As a result, Crescent Energy Finance LLC, as successor in interest, certified the termination of registration of Vital’s common stock under Section 12(g) and the suspension of reporting obligations under Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The approximate number of holders of record at the certification date was reported as zero, reflecting completion of the all-equity acquisition.
Implications for VTLE stock
Following these transactions, VTLE no longer trades as an independent listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Former Vital stockholders received Crescent Class A common stock as merger consideration, as described in the merger agreement and related SEC filings. For ongoing information about the underlying business and assets that previously belonged to Vital, investors must now refer to Crescent Energy Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Crescent Energy Finance LLC.
From an historical perspective, VTLE represents the former NYSE-listed common stock of an independent energy company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a business strategy focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas. After December 15, 2025, that business became part of Crescent’s corporate structure and ceased to exist as a separate public company.
Key points for researchers
- Industry and sector: Crude petroleum and natural gas extraction; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector.
- Headquarters (historical): Tulsa, Oklahoma, as disclosed in company press releases and SEC filings.
- Operating focus: Acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas.
- Exchange listing (historical): Common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VTLE until delisting in connection with the Crescent merger.
- Corporate status: Acquired by Crescent Energy Company in an all-equity transaction completed on December 15, 2025; Vital’s separate corporate existence ended at that time.