Vital Energy (VTLE) director cashes out deferred stock in Crescent merger
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Vital Energy, Inc. director Shihab A. Kuran reported insider transactions tied to the completion of a merger with Crescent Energy Company and its subsidiaries on December 15, 2025, under an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated August 24, 2025. The filing shows a conversion of 11,317 deferred stock units related to Vital Energy common stock and a disposition of 16,371 shares of common stock, leaving the director with zero beneficially owned shares.
Under the merger terms, amounts credited to the director’s Deferred Stock Account, referred to as Vital Director Deferred Stock Awards, became payable in a lump-sum cash payment. The cash amount is based on the total number of Vital Energy common shares underlying these awards multiplied by $17.92, the closing price of Vital common stock on December 12, 2025, the trading day immediately before the merger closing date.
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Insights
Director’s deferred stock was cashed out at $17.92 per share after the Crescent–Vital merger closed.
The transactions center on the closing of a merger in which Crescent Energy Company combined with Vital Energy, Inc. through two subsidiary mergers, leaving Merger Sub LLC as the surviving entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent. In connection with this closing, director Shihab A. Kuran reported a conversion of 11,317 deferred stock units linked to Vital common stock and a related disposition of 16,371 Vital common shares, after which his beneficial ownership fell to zero.
The filing explains that amounts in the director’s Deferred Stock Account, defined as Vital Director Deferred Stock Awards, became payable in a lump-sum cash amount. That cash is calculated as the number of Vital common shares subject to the awards multiplied by $17.92, the closing price of one share on December 12, 2025. This reflects a mechanical equity-compensation settlement driven by the merger terms rather than discretionary trading, and it effectively ends the director’s exposure to Vital Energy securities as shown in this report.
Insider Trade Summary
| Type | Security | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise | Deferred Stock Units | 11,317 | $0.00 | -- |
| Exercise | Common Stock | 11,317 | $0.00 | -- |
| Disposition | Common Stock | 16,371 | $0.00 | -- |
Footnotes (1)
- On December 15, 2025 (the "Closing Date"), the transactions contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated August 24, 2025, (the "Merger Agreement"), by and among Crescent Energy Company, a Delaware corporation ("Crescent"), Venus Merger Sub I Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent ("Merger Sub Inc."), Venus Merger Sub II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent ("Merger Sub LLC"), and Vital Energy, Inc. (the "Issuer") were consummated. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, (i) Merger Sub Inc. merged with and into the Issuer (the "First Company Merger"), with the Issuer continuing as the surviving entity (the "Surviving Corporation") and (ii) immediately following the First Company Merger, the Surviving Corporation merged with and into Merger Sub LLC, with Merger Sub LLC continuing as the surviving entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the amounts in the Reporting Person's "Deferred Stock Account" (as such term is defined under the Issuer's Director Deferred Compensation Plan) (each, a "Vital Director Deferred Stock Award") became payable in a lump sum cash payment equal to (i) the total number of shares of the Issuer's common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Vital Common Stock"), subject to such Vital Director Deferred Stock Award and (ii) $17.92, the closing price of one share of Vital Common Stock on December 12, 2025 (the trading date immediately preceding the Closing Date).
