[Editor's note: This story was updated from a previous version posted at 7:25 p.m. CT Jan. 24.]

Just four months after exiting bankruptcy, Halcón Resources Corp. (NYSE: HK) has engineered deals to purchase nearly 21,000 net Southern Delaware Basin acres while exiting its El Halcón position in the East Texas Eagle Ford, the company said Jan. 24.

For good measure, Halcón also optioned the purchase of an additional 15,040 net acres in Ward and Winkler counties, Texas.

The $705 million deal gives Halcón an entry into the Delaware’s Pecos County, Texas—a price that includes the eventual purchase of the Ward acreage for $175 million. The deal was signed Jan. 18 with Samson Exploration LLC, according to regulatory filings.

Overall, Halcón stands to gain about 36,000 net acres in Pecos and Ward for roughly $20,000 per acre, the company said. The company will finance the transaction with $500 million in sale proceeds from the El Halcón sale and a private equity offering.

Hawkwood Energy LLC agreed Jan. 24 to purchase the 80,500 net acres in the Eagle Ford from Halcón. Proved reserves on the property are estimated at 21.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The company expects the El Halcón sale to close in March.

Halcon Resources, Southern Delaware Basin, acquisition, chart

Floyd Wilson, Halcón’s chairman, CEO and president, said the transactions are a strategic turning point for the company. Halcón will maintain a second core play in the Bakken/Three Forks in North Dakota, with the Delaware acquisition producing 38 MMboe/d in 2017.

“After the consummation of these transactions, we will have core operating areas in two of the most attractive North American oil basins with decades of highly economic development drilling ahead of us,” Wilson said. “The proceeds from the sale and the equity offering provide sufficient funds to acquire the Delaware assets and fund drilling capital to grow our asset base over the next several years, while at the same time improving our leverage profile.”

The Delaware assets consist of 20,748 net acres in Pecos and Reeves counties, Texas, and average net production of 2,600 boe/d. The Pecos acreage is 44% HBP by two rigs.

The leasehold is sandwiched between positions controlled by Occidental Petroleum Inc.’s (NYSE: OXY) and Diamondback Energy Inc. (NYSE: FANG). Oxy announced a $1.8 billion deal to buy its acreage in October, and Diamondback announced its $2.4 billion acquisition in December.

Halcon Resources, Delaware Basin, Permian, Texas, New Mexico, acreage position, map

Halcón said a “significant percentage” of the acreage has been de-risked by recent drilling on and around the acreage. The liquids-rich area offers 700 gross Wolfcamp A and B drilling locations as well as 750 upside locations in other zones.

The acreage is large contiguous and is expected to offer laterals of more than 7,500 ft. With a four-rig program, the Wolfcamp inventory life is about 12 years.

Halcón said it will conduct a private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering to finance the deal.

A PIPE offering allows investors to purchase restricted shares while the company, in turn, files a resale registration statement so that investors can resell the shares to the public, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Halcón said it entered agreements with institutional investors to sell, in a private offering, about 5,518 shares of automatically convertible preferred stock. Each share will be convertible into 10,000 shares of its common stock for anticipated gross proceeds of $400 million.

The offering is contingent on the closing of the Delaware purchase. The acquisition is not dependent on the El Halcón divestiture, the company said in SEC filings.

Halcón said the financing will improve its leverage and liquidity profile. In September, Halcón completed its financial restructuring and exited bankruptcy after eliminating about $1.8 billion of debt.

BofA Merrill Lynch was exclusive financial adviser to Halcón in connection with the acquisition of the Pecos and Reeves assets. BofA Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan Securities were placement agents in the private offering. Mayer Brown in Houston represented Halcón on the offering of convertible preferred stock.

Jefferies LLC was financial adviser to the seller of the Pecos and Reeves assets.

Darren Barbee can be reached at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.