Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A)
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Preliminary Proxy Statement
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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2))
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Definitive Proxy Statement
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Definitive Additional Materials
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Soliciting Material under §
240.14a-12
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No fee required
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Fee paid previously with written preliminary materials
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Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules
14a-6(i)(1)
and 0-11
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NOTICE OF 2025 ANNUAL MEETING AND PROXY STATEMENT
TUESDAY
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MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Dear
On behalf of your board of directors, I am pleased to invite you to attend our Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on
It is important that your shares be represented at the meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting in person, we urge you to grant your proxy to vote your shares by telephone or through the Internet by following the instructions included on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you received, or if you requested to receive a paper copy of the proxy card, to mark, date, sign and retuthe proxy card in the envelope provided. Please note that submitting a proxy will not prevent you from attending the meeting in person and voting at such meeting. Please note, however, if a broker or other nominee holds your shares of record and you wish to vote at the meeting, you must obtain from that registered holder a proxy card issued in your name.
You will find information regarding the matters to be voted on at the meeting in the proxy statement. Your interest in
Sincerely,
Chairman of the Board
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NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY
TO THE STOCKHOLDERS OF VIPER ENERGY, INC.:
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders of
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To elect eight directors to serve until the Company's 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders; |
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To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company's named executive officers; |
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To ratify the appointment of |
| 4. |
To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting and any adjournment or postponement thereof. |
We are providing access to our proxy materials, including this proxy statement and our 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K,over the Internet. As a result, we are mailing to our stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials instead of a paper copy of our proxy materials. The notice contains instructions on how to access those proxy materials over the Internet, as well as instructions on how to request a paper or email copy of our proxy materials. Those stockholders who request a paper copy of our proxy materials as provided in the Notice of Internet Availability will receive such proxy materials by mail. This electronic distribution process reduces the environmental impact and lowers the costs of printing and distributing our proxy materials.
Your vote is important. Please carefully consider the proposals and vote in one of these ways:
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Internet- Follow the instructions on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or the proxy card to vote through the Internet |
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Telephone- Follow the instructions on the proxy card to vote by phone |
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Mail- If you request to receive a paper copy of our proxy materials, mark, sign, date and promptly retuthe proxy card in the postage-paid envelope |
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Annual Meeting- Submit a ballot at the Annual Meeting |
Only stockholders of record at the close of business on
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS TO BE HELD ONMAY20, 2025. THIS PROXY STATEMENT AND THE COMPANY'S 2024 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-KARE AVAILABLE AT WWW.ENVISIONREPORTS.COM/VNOM2.
By Order of the Board of Directors,
Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel
The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials is first being mailed to stockholders on
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CONVERSION TO CORPORATION, DROP DOWN AND CHANGES IN "CONTROLLED COMPANY" STATUS |
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REVIEW WITH MANAGEMENT AND INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM |
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2024 and Q1 2025 Operational and Financial Performance Highlights and Key Strategic Transactions |
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PROXY SUMMARY
THE SUMMARY BELOW HIGHLIGHTS SELECTED INFORMATION IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT. PLEASE REVIEW THE ENTIRE PROXY STATEMENT BEFORE VOTING YOUR SHARES.
VOTING MATTERS
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Proposal |
Board Recommendation |
Page Reference | ||||
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Proposal 1: Election of Directors |
FOR each Director | 4 | ||||
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Proposal 2: Approve, on an Advisory Basis, the compensation of the Company's named executive officers |
FOR | 64 | ||||
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Proposal 3: Ratify the Appointment of Our Independent Auditors |
FOR | 65 | ||||
DIRECTOR NOMINEES
| Committee Memberships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominee |
Age | Director Since |
Independent | Audit | Compensation | Nominating and Corporate Governance |
Other Current Public Boards |
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53 | 2023 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | + | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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71 | 2017 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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63 | 2022 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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68 | 2014 | ✓ | ✓ | + | ✓ | ✓ | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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40 | 2014 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | + | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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63 | 2014 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kaes Van't Hof(1) |
38 | 2023 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Steven E. West+ |
64 | 2014 | ✓ | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chairman of Board or Committee, as applicable |
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CONVERSION TO CORPORATION, DROP DOWN AND CHANGES IN "CONTROLLED COMPANY" STATUS
On
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2023 (the "Services and Secondment Agreement"), pursuant to which our parent,
Prior to
Effective as of
Pending Drop Down
On
If the Drop Down is completed, the aggregate consideration in exchange for the Target Interests will be (i)
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The completion of the Drop Down is subject to (i) the approval of the Drop Down by the holders of a majority of the voting power of our common stock entitled to vote at the special meeting (as hereinafter defined) of our stockholders, voting together as a single class, excluding the shares beneficially owned by Diamondback and its subsidiaries, (ii) the approval of the Equity Issuance by a majority of the total votes cast on such proposal at the special meeting, (iii) the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, which expired at
On
This proxy statement is filed with the
Impact of Pending Drop Down on "
As of
References in this proxy statement to (i) the "Operating Company" or "OpCo" refers to
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PROPOSAL 1: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS
Under the terms and conditions of our certificate of incorporation, our parent, Diamondback has the right to (i) designate up to three persons to serve as directors of the Company, (ii) fill any vacancies created by any such Diamondback designees and (iii) provide for an increase in the size of our board of directors to allow for the appointment of Diamondback designees (collectively, the "Diamondback Director Designation Rights"), in each case, for so long as Diamondback and any of Diamondback's subsidiaries, collectively, beneficially own at least 25% of our outstanding common stock. Currently, there are two Diamondback designees on the Company's board of directors-
Subject to the Diamondback Director Designation Rights, our board of directors is focused on recruiting and nominating directors for election who will collectively provide the board with a wide range of skills, backgrounds and experiences to meet the Company's ongoing needs and support oversight of our business strategy and priorities, while maintaining institutional knowledge. To assist the board with this process and certain other nominating and corporate governance matters, effective as of
The nominating and corporate governance committee recognizes the value of having a broadly inclusive membership on our board of directors and takes such considerations into account when recommending directors for re-electionor, when applicable, new nominees to the board. Subject to the Diamondback Director Designation Rights, in determining whether to recommend incumbent directors for re-electionto the board or appoint a new director, the nominating and corporate governance committee also reviews and considers the director's board and committee meeting attendance, director tenure and the well-roundedness of the board as a whole, and evaluates the level of support that the director's nomination will receive at the Company's 2025 Annual Meeting and any future annual meeting of stockholders, as applicable.
In
About Director Nominees
Under our certificate of incorporation, members of our board of directors are elected annually. In the event any nominee should be unavailable to serve at the time of the meeting, the proxies may be voted for a substitute nominee selected by the board.
Biographical information with respect to each of the eight director nominees, together with a list of competencies that contributed to the conclusion that such person should serve as a director, are presented below. Ages are as of
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THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE "FOR" THE ELECTION OF THE EIGHT NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR LISTED BELOW.
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our board of directors: Corporate Governance; M&A/Finance/Capital Markets; Financial Reporting; Industry Background; Executive Experience; Executive Compensation; and Risk Management.
Kaes Van't Hof.
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2013 until
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partner of
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Summary of Director Nominee Core Competencies
The breadth of experience and wide variety of skills, qualifications and viewpoints of the director nominees embody key competencies that our nominating and corporate governance committee considers valuable to effective oversight of the Company. The following chart illustrates how the current board members individually and collectively represent these core competencies. The lack of an indicator for a particular item does not mean that the director does not possess that qualification, skill or experience, as each director is expected to be knowledgeable in all of these areas. The indicator merely represents a core competency that the director nominee brings to our board. For more information about each director nominee, see the individual biographies set forth beginning on page 4 above.
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Knowledge, Skills and Experience |
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Corporate Governance Contributes to the board's understanding of best practices in corporate governance matters. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||||
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Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability Contributes to the board's oversight and understanding of environmental, health, safety and sustainability issues and their relationship to our business and strategy. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||||||||
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M&A/Finance/Capital Markets Demonstrates experience in assessment and execution of strategic M&A and capital markets transactions and provides valuable insights into evaluating our capital structure, capital allocation and financial strategy. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||||
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Financial Reporting/Accounting Experience Critical to the oversight of our financial statements, internal controls and financial reports. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||||
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Government, Legal & Regulatory Contributes to the board's ability to guide us through government regulations, legal matters and public policy issues. |
● | ● | ● | |||||||||||||
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Industry Background Offers pertinent background and knowledge to the board, providing valuable perspective on issues specific to our business, operations and strategy, including key performance indicators and the competitive environment. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||||
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Executive Experience Demonstrates leadership ability and provides valuable insights into operations and business strategy through a practical understanding of organizations, processes, strategy, risk management and the methods to drive profitability, stockholder returns, change and growth. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||||
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Executive Compensation Contributes to the board's ability to attract, motivate and retain executive talent. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
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Risk Management Contributes to the board's oversight of the identification, assessment and prioritization of significant risks and ensures mitigation strategies are timely adopted. |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||||
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Cyber Defense and Protection/Information Systems Contributes to the board's oversight and understanding of our cyber defense and protection strategy. |
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Gender |
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Male |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
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Female |
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Race/Ethnicity |
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Asian |
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Hispanic or Latinx |
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White |
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE HIGHLIGHTS
We believe that effective corporate governance should include regular constructive discussions with our stockholders. We have a proactive stockholder engagement process that encourages feedback from our stockholders. This feedback helps shape our governance practices, which include:
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On |
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In |
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a proxy access bylaw provision |
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stockholders have the right to call a special meeting of stockholders |
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Majority voting to elect directors (for uncontested elections) |
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Mandatory director resignation if a majority vote is not received (for uncontested elections) |
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A declassified board of directors |
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Stockholders have the right to act by written consent in certain circumstances |
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~75% of directors are independent under the Nasdaq Rules |
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Promote equal opportunity and inclusive culture on the board of directors and within the organization |
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33% of our board committees are chaired by gender or ethnically diverse directors |
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Active board oversight of risk and risk management |
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Implemented director overboarding policy limiting service on public company boards and audit committees |
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Independent director meetings in executive session led by the chairman of the board of directors or, if the chairman is not independent, our lead independent director |
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Maintain a comprehensive executive incentive compensation clawback policy that allows for the recoupment and/or forfeiture of certain executive officer incentive compensation and complies with the Nasdaq Rules implementing Rule 10D-1of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") |
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Adopted rigorous stock ownership guidelines for non-employeedirectors |
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Adopted and annually evaluate Corporate Governance Guidelines as another step to reinforce our commitment to sound governance practices and policies |
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Maintain a related party transaction policy |
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Maintain robust insider trading policies covering trading in our securities by our directors and executive officers and seconded employees under the Services and Secondment Agreement, also requiring that charitable donations and other gifts of common stock by our executive officers and directors be subject to the same open trading window and preapproval requirements as trades in such securities |
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Do not release material nonpublic information for the purpose of affecting the value of executive compensation or timing and terms of executive equity awards |
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Annual performance evaluation of the board and its committees as part of their commitment to continuous improvement |
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Each director attended at least 75% of the 2024 board and applicable committee meetings |
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All financially literate and independent audit committee members, and at least one audit committee member qualifies as a financial expert |
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Our nominating and corporate governance committee are each comprised of all independent directors under the Nasdaq Rules and applicable |
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE GUIDELINES
The board has adopted our Corporate Governance Guidelines as a way to reinforce its commitment to sound governance practices and policies. These Corporate Governance Guidelines include provisions concerning the following:
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Role and responsibilities of the board and its committees; |
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Size of the board; |
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Selection, qualifications, independence, responsibilities and tenure of directors; |
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Director resignation process; |
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Selection of chairman of the board and lead independent director; |
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Limits on other public company directorships and audit committee service; |
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Board meetings and agendas; |
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Director access to management and advisors; |
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Executive sessions of independent directors; |
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Director orientation and continuing education; |
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Annual performance evaluations of the board and its committees; |
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Director compensation; |
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Stockholder and third party communications with the board; |
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Board communications with third parties; |
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Confidentiality; |
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Stock ownership guidelines for non-employeedirectors; |
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Code of Business Conduct and Ethics; and |
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Conflicts of interest. |
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines can be found on our website at https://www.viperenergy.com/corporate-governance/governance-documents. You may also obtain copies of the Corporate Governance Guidelines, at no charge to you, by writing to Corporate Secretary,
Limits on Board Service and Audit Committee Service
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines establish the following limits on our directors serving on public company boards and audit committees:
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Director Category |
Limits on Public Company Boards and Audit Committee Service, including Viper |
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| All Directors | Four Boards | |
| Directors Who Serve as CEO of a |
Two Boards | |
| Directors Who Serve on Audit Committees | Three Audit Committees |
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that prior to accepting an invitation to serve on the board of another public company or other for-profitentity or accepting membership of the audit committee of the board of another public company or other for-profitentity, a director must (i) provide timely notice to the chairperson of the nominating and corporate governance committee, with a copy to the Chairman of the Board, the lead
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independent director, if applicable, and the Corporate Secretary, and (ii) obtain approval from the nominating and corporate governance committee based upon its review of the opportunity in light of factors it deems relevant, including possible conflicts of interest, whether the opportunity would create any legal or regulatory issues, or conflict with any of our corporate governance policies, the director's status as an independent director and any constraints on the director's time that would detract from the director's ability to serve the Company. The nominating and corporate governance committee reviews compliance with our director overboarding policy on an annual basis. All directors are currently in compliance with our director overboarding policy related to limits on board service and audit committee service.
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DIRECTOR QUALIFICATIONS AND NOMINATION PROCESS
Skills and Qualifications We Seek in Directors
As provided by the nominating and corporate governance committee's charter and our Corporate Governance Guidelines, and subject to the terms and conditions of our certificate of incorporation relating to the Diamondback Director Designation Rights, our nominating and corporate governance committee identifies, evaluates and recommends to our board of directors candidates with the goal of creating a balance of knowledge, experience and backgrounds.
It is our policy that potential directors should possess the highest personal and professional ethics, integrity and values, and be committed to representing the interests of our stockholders. We also require that the members of our board of directors be able to dedicate the time and resources sufficient to ensure the diligent performance of their duties on our behalf, including attending all meetings of the board of directors and applicable committee meetings. We also require that at least a majority of our directors meet the standards of independence promulgated by Nasdaq and the
Board Refreshment and Composition
Our nominating and corporate governance committee is focused on ensuring that the composition of the board represents a wide range of skills, experiences and backgrounds, and is balanced and aligned with the evolving needs of the Company, subject to the Diamondback Director Designation Rights. The board ensures refreshment and continued effectiveness by evaluating the composition of the board on a periodic basis to ensure its composition reflects a range of talents, skills and expertise sufficient to provide sound and prudent guidance with respect to our operations and the interests of our stockholders. In particular, the board seeks to maintain a balance of experience in the areas of accounting and finance, management, leadership, emerging risks and oil and gas related industries, as well as other core competencies discussed under "Summary of Director Nominee Core Competencies." As part of the board refreshment process, between 2022 and 2023, three new directors were added to the board,
Additionally, it is our policy that our nominating and corporate governance committee considers equal opportunity and inclusion in its evaluation of candidates for board membership. To this end, our board believes that a wide range of viewpoints, including those that are held by candidates of different gender, race, ethnicity, background, age, thought and tenure on our board (in connection with the consideration of the renomination of an existing director), should be an important factor in board composition. To reflect this policy and to ensure a competitive recruitment process, our nominating and corporate governance committee, in accordance with its charter, seeks to include candidates meeting such qualifications in all director searches. In accordance with its charter, our nominating and corporate governance committee also ensures that these considerations are discussed in connection with each potential nominee, as well as on a periodic basis in connection with its periodic review of the composition of the board and the size of the board as a whole. Prior to the Conversion, the former
How We Select our Director Nominees
As discussed above, under the terms of our certificate of incorporation, Diamondback has the right to designate up to three persons to serve as directors of the Company for so long as Diamondback and any of its subsidiaries, collectively, beneficially own at least 25% of the outstanding common stock of the Company. Diamondback's current designees to our board are
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The board is responsible for nominating directors and filling any vacancies that may occur between annual meetings, based upon the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee, which takes into consideration the skills and qualifications discussed above and the Diamondback Director Designation Rights. The nominating and corporate governance committee also considers the Company's current needs and long term and strategic plans to determine the skills, experience and characteristics needed by our board. The nominating and corporate governance committee then identifies, considers and recommends director candidates to the board (subject to the Diamondback Director Designation Rights) in light of its commitment to board improvement, refreshment and inclusive culture discussed above. Generally, the nominating and corporate governance committee otherwise identifies candidates through the business and organizational contacts of our advisors, directors and management team.
The nominating and corporate governance committee, in accordance with its charter and our Corporate Governance Guidelines, takes into consideration the key qualifications and skills described above when evaluating candidates. The nominating and corporate governance committee also considers whether potential candidates will likely satisfy independence standards for service on the board and its committees and the number of public boards on which the candidate already serves.
Stockholder Nomination of Candidates and Proxy Access
Under the Company's bylaws, we provide proxy access, permitting a stockholder, or a group of up to 20 eligible stockholders, that has continuously owned, for no less than three years, at least 3% of our outstanding common stock, to nominate and include in our proxy materials up to the greater of two directors and 20% of the number of directors currently serving on the Company's board, provided that the stockholder(s) and the nominee(s) satisfy the requirements specified in our bylaws.
Stockholders who wish to submit a director nomination proposal, but who do not wish to have such nomination included in the Company's proxy materials, must notify the Company in writing of the information required by the provisions of our bylaws dealing with such stockholder proposals.
See "Submission of Future Stockholder Proposals" on page 72 for additional detail and deadlines regarding submitting director nominees.
Stockholder Rights to Call a Special Meeting
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that a special meeting of stockholders may be called by the Chairman of the Board following receipt of a written request of one or more stockholders that together have continuously held, for their own accounts, beneficial ownership of at least 20% aggregate "net long position" (as such term is defined in our bylaws) of our issued and outstanding voting stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors for at least one year prior to the date such request is delivered to the Company and at the special meeting date.
Majority Voting
To be elected, a director must receive a majority of the votes cast with respect to that director at the meeting. Our bylaws and Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that if the number of shares voted "FOR" a nominee who is serving as a director (an incumbent) does not exceed the votes cast "AGAINST" that director, he or she will tender his or her resignation to the board. The board will evaluate whether to accept or reject such resignation, or whether other action should be taken. Within 90 days of the certification of the stockholder vote, the board is required to decide whether to accept the resignation and publicly disclose its rationale for the decision.
In a contested election, where the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the required vote would be a plurality of votes cast, which means that the directors receiving the largest number of "FOR" votes will be elected in such contested election.
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DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that a majority of the board of directors must be "independent" in accordance with the Nasdaq Rules. Our board of directors has determined that six of our director nominees (
Our board of directors has determined that each current member of the audit committee is independent for purposes of serving on such committee under the Nasdaq Rules and the applicable
Our board of directors has also determined that each member of the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee meets the independence requirements applicable to those committees under the Nasdaq Rules. In addition, our board of directors determined that each member of our compensation committee is a "non-employeedirector" in accordance with Rule 16b-3under the Exchange Act.
Executive Sessions of Independent Directors
Our independent directors have the opportunity to meet in an executive session following each regularly scheduled meeting of the board of directors and its committees.
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BOARD LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
Leadership of our board of directors is vested in the chairman of the board.
We believe that our directors bring a broad range of leadership experience to the boardroom and regularly contribute to the thoughtful discussion involved in effectively overseeing the business and affairs of the Company. In addition, we believe that the atmosphere of our board is collegial, that all board members are well engaged in their responsibilities, and that all board members express their views and consider the opinions expressed by other directors. Six of the eight current directors on our board are independent under the Nasdaq Rules and the applicable
We also believe that all our independent directors have demonstrated leadership in business enterprises and other large organizations and are familiar with board processes. Our independent directors are involved in the leadership structure of our board by serving on our audit, compensation, or nominating and corporate governance committees, each having a separate independent chairperson. Specifically, the chairperson of our audit committee oversees the accounting and financial reporting processes, as well as compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The chairperson of our compensation committee oversees our compensation policies and practices and their impact on risk and risk management. The chairperson of our nominating and corporate governance committee monitors matters such as the composition of the board and its committees, board performance and best practices in corporate governance. As such, each committee chairperson provides independent leadership for purposes of many important functions delegated by our board of directors to such committee.
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BOARD MEETINGS, COMMITTEES AND MEMBERSHIP
In 2024, our board of directors met five times, in person or, remotely via electronic or telephonic means. In addition to these meetings, the board of directors adopted resolutions by unanimous written consent. In 2024, each director attended at least 75% of the meetings of the board of directors and the meetings of the committees on which he or she served. To the extent a director was unable to attend a meeting in 2024, he or she met telephonically with members of senior management to receive a report regarding the materials reviewed at the meeting.
Recognizing that director attendance at our Annual Meeting can provide our stockholders with an opportunity to communicate with directors about issues affecting the Company, we actively encourage our directors to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. All eight of our directors attended our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in person.
Board Committee Membership
The table below shows the membership of each of the board's committees, as well as information about each committee's principal functions.
Audit Committee
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Members |
Principal Functions |
Number of |
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• Reviews and discusses with management, the Company's independent auditors and the Company's independent Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and internal audit advisors, matters regarding the integrity of our accounting policies, internal controls, financial statements, accounting and auditing processes and risk management compliance, including cybersecurity risks. • Monitors and oversees our accounting, auditing and financial reporting processes generally, including the qualifications, independence and performance of the independent auditor. • Monitors our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. • Establishes procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. • Reviews and approves related party transactions. • Appoints, evaluates, terminates, and determines the compensation of, our independent auditors. • Pre-approvesaudit and permissible non-auditservices to be performed by the independent auditors. • Prepares the report required by the • Reviews and reassesses the adequacy of the audit committee charter on a periodic basis. • Informs our independent auditors of the audit committee's understanding of significant relationships and transactions with related parties and reviews and discusses with our independent auditors the auditors' evaluation of our identification of, accounting for and disclosure of our relationships and transactions with related parties, including any significant matters arising from the audit regarding our relationships and transactions with related parties. • Prepares for the board of directors an annual performance evaluation of the committee. |
8 |
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Committee Chairperson. |
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Compensation Committee
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Members |
Principal Functions |
Number of |
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• Subject to the Services and Secondment Agreement and in consultation with Diamondback, establishes our general compensation philosophy and objectives. • Reviews and recommends to the board of directors, on an annual basis, the Company's performance-based criteria, targets and methodologies applicable to any compensation, including equity compensation, of our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers seconded to us under the Services and Secondment Agreement that may be granted to them in addition to the compensation provided by Diamondback for their respective services to the Company. • Periodically consults with Diamondback regarding the succession plan for the Chief Executive Officer and with the Chief Executive Officer regarding the succession plan for other members of senior management seconded to us by Diamondback. • Subject to the Services and Secondment Agreement, reviews and consults with Diamondback regarding any new, or any material amendments to, any employment agreements, severance arrangements and plans, retention agreements, participation agreements, change in control provisions and agreements and any special supplemental benefits applicable to the Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers for which we will be obligated to reimburse, in whole or in part, Diamondback under the terms and conditions of the Services and Secondment Agreement. • Reviews and recommends to the board of directors, the Company's incentive compensation and equity-based plans and award agreements, which includes the ability to adopt, amend and terminate such plans and agreements. • Where appropriate, or required, makes recommendations to our stockholders with respect to incentive compensation and equity-based plans. • Periodically reviews the compensation plans and policies under which any compensation may be granted by us to seconded employees for their services to us. • Reviews and recommends to the board of directors, any allocation of annual equity compensation that may be awarded by the Chief Executive Officer to non-executiveemployees seconded by Diamondback to us. • Consults with Diamondback regarding the risk assessment of compensation arrangements applicable to the executive officers and other employees seconded to us by Diamondback. • Reviews and discusses, at least annually, the relationship between risk management policies and practices and compensation. |
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• Oversees the risk assessment of any separate compensation arrangements provided by us to the seconded executive officers and other employees. • Administers the Company's incentive compensation and equity-based plans, including the grant of stock options, restricted awards and other equity awards under such plans. • Reviews and makes recommendations to our board of directors with respect to non-employeedirector compensation. • Subject to the Services and Secondment Agreement, periodically reviews the adequacy of our stock ownership guidelines for the Chief Executive Officer, other executive officers and non-employeedirectors, and recommends any amendments of the stock ownership guidelines to our board of directors and annually monitors compliance with such guidelines. • Conducts a periodic performance evaluation of the committee. • Reviews and reassesses the adequacy of the compensation committee charter and recommends any proposed changes to the board of directors for approval. |
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• Advises the board of directors regarding the stockholder advisory votes on executive compensation and golden parachutes, including the frequency of such votes. • Administers our clawback policy in compliance with Rule 10D-1under the Exchange Act and the Nasdaq Rules, including the ability to amend, modify or terminate such policy, or, to the extent the board of directors or the audit committee has determined that an accounting restatement is necessary, reviews and considers whether such restatement requires recoupment of incentive-based compensation received by current or former executive officers and other employees seconded to us, in accordance with the terms of such policy. • Reviews and considers the stockholder advisory vote on executive compensation when determining policies and making decisions on executive compensation. • Has the sole authority to appoint, compensate and oversee work of any compensation consultant and other advisors with respect to executive compensation and assistance with other charter responsibilities and determines any conflict of interest with respect to such compensation consultant. |
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Committee Chairperson. |
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Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
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Number of |
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Subject, in each case, to the Diamondback Director Designation Rights: • Assists the board of directors in developing criteria for, and identifying and evaluating individuals qualified to serve as, members of our board of directors. • Identifies and recommends director candidates to the board of directors to be submitted for election at the annual meeting of stockholders and to fill any vacancies on the board of directors. • Conducts and oversees the self-evaluation of the board of directors and each of its committees and reports the results of such evaluations to the board of directors. • Evaluates candidates for board of directors' membership, including those recommended by stockholders of the Company. • Periodically reviews and makes recommendations regarding the composition and size of the board of directors and each of its committees. • Annually recommends to the board of directors the chairpersons and members of each of the board of directors' committees. • Reviews any director resignation letter tendered in accordance with the Company's director resignation policy, and evaluates and recommends to the board of directors whether such resignation should be accepted. • Reviews and makes recommendations to the board of directors regarding significant stockholder concerns and stockholder proposals related to corporate governance matters. • Annually reviews and reassesses the adequacy of the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines and recommends any proposed changes to the board of directors for approval. • Periodically reviews and reassesses the adequacy of our certificate of incorporation and Bylaws, as may be amended or restated from time to time, and other corporate governance related documents and recommends any proposed changes to the board of directors for approval. • Conducts an annual performance evaluation of the committee. • Reviews and reassesses the adequacy of the nominating and corporate governance committee charter on an annual basis and recommends any proposed changes to the board of directors for approval. |
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Committee Chairperson. |
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The charters for our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee can be found on our website at https://www.viperenergy.com/corporate-governance/governance-documents. You may also obtain copies of these charters at no charge to you, by writing to Secretary,
ANNUAL BOARD AND COMMITTEE EVALUATIONS
The board is committed to continuous improvement with respect to its ability to carry out its responsibilities. In accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters of each board committee, the board and each of its committees annually conduct a comprehensive evaluation process. These board and committee evaluations are a critical tool in assessing the composition and effectiveness of the board and each of its committees and presents the opportunity to identify areas of strength and areas capable of improvement. Our nominating and corporate governance committee oversees the annual board and committee evaluation process, which is described in more detail below.
Our board and committee written evaluations cover the following topics:
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board and committee responsibilities and effectiveness; |
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board and committee size, structure and composition, including assessment of skills, experience, diversity, occupational and personal backgrounds, as well as considerations relating to the Diamondback Director Designation Rights; |
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board culture and dynamics, including the effectiveness of discussion and debate at board and committee meetings; |
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strategic planning and oversight; |
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the quality of board and committee agendas and meeting materials; |
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access to resources, including management and outside advisors; and |
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board and individual committee performance. |
THE BOARD'S ROLE IN RISK OVERSIGHT
As a public company focused on owning and acquiring mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties primarily in the
Our board of directors believes that full and open communication between management and the board of directors is essential for effective risk management and oversight. Our board of directors meets regularly with our executive officers to discuss strategy and risks facing the Company. Our executive officers regularly attend our board meetings and are available to address any questions or concerns raised by the board on risk management-related and any other matters. Other members of our management team periodically attend the board meetings or are otherwise available to confer with our board, to the extent their expertise is required to address risk management matters. Periodically, our board of directors receives presentations from senior management on strategic matters involving our operations. During such meetings, our board of directors also discusses strategies, key challenges, and risks and opportunities for the Company with senior management.
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Committee Risk Oversight Responsibilities
While our board of directors is ultimately responsible for Company-wide risk oversight, the board's three committees assist the board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities in certain areas of risk.
The audit committee assists the board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to risk management in the areas of financial reporting, internal controls and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and discusses policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management, including with respect to cybersecurity, which plays an integral role in our risk management strategy and continues to be an increasing area of focus for our board, the audit committee and our management team. For additional information, see "Cybersecurity Risk Management Strategy" below. Additionally, the audit committee assists the board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to specific matters that the board believes may involve conflicts of interest.
The compensation committee assists the board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to the management of risks associated with the equity grants under and administration of our long term incentive plan (the "LTIP") and any other compensation policies and programs that may be implemented by the board or the compensation committee in the future. However, as discussed in more detail in this proxy statement under the heading "Compensation Discussion and Analysis," we do not have any employees and our day-to-daybusiness is managed by Diamondback under the terms and conditions of the Services and Secondment Agreement, pursuant to which Diamondback provides certain management services to us, including services of our executive officers, all of whom are compensated by Diamondback.
The nominating and corporate governance committee assists the board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to the management of risks associated with the board's organization, membership and structure and corporate governance, subject to the provisions of our certificate of incorporation for the Diamondback Director Designation Rights.
Cybersecurity Risk Management Strategy
Diamondback provides us with personnel and general and administrative services pursuant to the Services and Secondment Agreement, including the personnel and infrastructure that underlie our cybersecurity risk management program. In connection therewith, Diamondback has implemented and invested in, and will continue to implement and invest in, controls, procedures and protections (including internal and external personnel) that are designed to protect Diamondback's systems, identify and remediate, on a regular basis, vulnerabilities in Diamondback's systems and related infrastructure and monitor and mitigate the risk of data loss and other cybersecurity threats. Diamondback has also engaged third-party consultants to conduct penetration testing and risk assessments. Diamondback's cybersecurity program is informed by the
Diamondback's cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into its overall enterprise risk management program, and shares common methodologies, reporting channels and governance processes that apply across the enterprise risk management program to other legal, compliance, strategic, operational, and financial risk areas that apply to us.
Diamondback's cybersecurity risk management program, which it provides to us under the Services and Secondment Agreement, includes:
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risk assessments designed to help identify material cybersecurity risks to critical systems, information, products, services, and the broader enterprise IT and operational technology ("OT") environments; |
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a security team principally responsible for managing (i) cybersecurity risk assessment processes, (ii) security controls, and (iii) its response to cybersecurity incidents; |
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the use of external service providers, where appropriate, to assess, test, train or otherwise assist with aspects of its security controls; |
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security tools deployed in the IT and OT environments for protection against and monitoring for suspicious activity; |
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cybersecurity awareness training of its employees, including incident response personnel and senior management, including those who provide these services for us; |
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cybersecurity tabletop exercises for members of its cybersecurity incident response team and legal department; |
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a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents; and |
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a third-party risk management process for service providers, suppliers, and vendors. |
While our board of directors is ultimately responsible for enterprise-wide risk oversight, the board's committees assist the board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities in certain areas of risk. In particular, the board's audit committee is responsible, among other things, for risk management relating to legal and regulatory requirements, including cybersecurity, which plays an integral role in our risk management strategy and continues to be an area of increasing focus for our board, the audit committee and management.
The audit committee of the board of directors receives quarterly updates on the status of Diamondback's cybersecurity governance program, including as related to new or developing initiatives and any security incidents that may occur, to the extent relevant to our program. Board members receive presentations on cybersecurity topics from Diamondback's Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer as part of the board's continuing education on topics that impact public companies. Further, Diamondback's code of business conduct and ethics expects all employees to safeguard the electronic communications systems and related technologies of Diamondback and its subsidiaries, including us, from theft, fraud, unauthorized access, alteration or other damage and requires them to report any cyberattacks or incidents, improper access or theft to Diamondback's Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer.
Diamondback's cybersecurity governance program also includes processes to assess cybersecurity risks related to third-party service providers, suppliers and vendors. Diamondback's vendor management process may include reviewing the cybersecurity practices of third-party service providers, suppliers and vendors; contractually imposing obligations on such providers, suppliers and vendors; and conducting security assessments and periodic reassessments of such providers, suppliers and vendors during their engagement.
CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT AND ETHICS
Our board of directors previously adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics designed for directors, seconded executive officers and other employees to ensure clarity regarding our expectations. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics embodies our commitment to conduct our businesses in accordance with our core values, all applicable laws, rules and regulations and the highest ethical standards. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to all directors, executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, principal accounting officer and controller and persons performing similar functions, and all other employees seconded to us by Diamondback. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics covers various topics including, among others, compliance and reporting, public disclosure, financial statements and other records, compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, conflicts of interest, corporate opportunities, confidentiality, fair dealing, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, confidentiality, protection and use of firm assets and the limited process for waivers. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is also focused on compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, governing, among others, insider trading, and establishes reporting and complaint procedures.
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Amendments to or waivers from the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics will be disclosed on our website. We have also made the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics available on our website under the "Corporate Governance" section at https://www.viperenergy.com/corporate-governance/governance-documents.You may also obtain copies of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics at no charge to you, by writing to Secretary,
COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE BOARD
Individuals may communicate with our board of directors or individual directors by writing to Secretary,
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
Members of our board of directors who are also officers of the Company or employees of Diamondback or its subsidiaries, as applicable, do not receive compensation for their services as directors. Directors who are not executive officers of the Company or employees of Diamondback or its subsidiaries, as applicable, receive compensation as "non-employeedirectors" as set by our board of directors. Further details regarding our director compensation in 2024 are set forth under the heading "Compensation Tables-2024 Director Compensation."
HUMAN CAPITAL
We do not have any employees. As discussed above, the business and affairs of the Company are overseen by our board of directors, and Diamondback provides personnel and general and administrative services to the Company, including the services of the executive officers and other employees, pursuant to the Services and Secondment Agreement. All of the individuals that conduct our business, including our executive officers, are employed by Diamondback.
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AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
The audit committee is responsible for providing independent, objective oversight for the integrity of the Company's financial reporting process and internal control system. Other primary responsibilities of the audit committee include the review, oversight and appraisal of the qualifications, independence and audit performance of the Company's independent registered public accounting firm and providing an open venue for communication among the independent registered public accounting firm, financial and senior management, our internal auditors and the board of directors of the Company. A more detailed description of the responsibilities of the audit committee is set forth in its written charter, which is posted on our website at https://www.viperenergy.com/corporate-governance/governance-documents, the following report summarizes certain of the audit committee's activities with respect to its responsibilities during 2024.
Review with Management and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The audit committee has reviewed and discussed with management and
Controls and Procedures
The audit committee discussed with management and
Discussions with Independent Auditing Firm
The audit committee has discussed with
Recommendation to the Board of Directors
Based on its review and discussions noted above, the audit committee recommended to the board of directors that the audited financial statements and management's report on internal control over financial reporting, be included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Kfor the year ended
AUDIT COMMITTEE
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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
The following table sets forth the name, age and positions of each of our executive officers as of
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Kaes Van't Hof(1) |
38 | Chief Executive Officer | ||
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32 | President | ||
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55 | Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary | ||
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44 | Executive Vice President and Chief Engineer | ||
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46 | Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
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Biographical information for |
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and Secretary of the General Partner). Since
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COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Executive Summary
This compensation discussion and analysis identifies Viper's named executive officers ("NEOs") for 2024, describes the Company's executive compensation program, including the objectives and rationale for each element of compensation, and presents the compensation outcomes for our NEOs relative to our 2024 performance.
Named Executive Officers
For 2024, our NEOs are listed below. There were no other executive officers of the Company during 2024. Our current President,
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Kaes Van't Hof - New Chief Executive Officer and former President |
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Biographical information for
2024 and Q1 2025 Operational and Financial Performance Highlights and Key Strategic Transactions
| STOCKHOLDER INITIATIVES AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT |
• Formed the |
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• Declared base and variable dividends of |
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• Generated full year 2024 consolidated net income (including non-controllinginterest) of |
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• Generated full year 2024 consolidated adjusted EBITDA (adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAPfinancial measure, please refer to Schedule A appended to this proxy statement for a definition and reconciliation) of |
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• Received |
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• Increased the elected commitment under its revolving credit facility to |
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• Class A Common Stock was added to the Russell 1000, XOP and the S&P Midcap 400. |
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| PORTFOLIO STRENGTH |
• Increased proved reserves year over year by 9% from year-end2023 (increasing oil reserves by 4%), with year-end2024 proved reserves totaling 195,873 MBOE (84% PDP, 93,563 MBO). |
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• Achieved full year 2024 average production of 27,156 BO/d (49,784 BOE/d). |
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• 1,461 total gross (27.9 net 100% royalty interest) horizontal wells turned to production on Viper's acreage during 2024 with an average lateral length of 11,381 feet. |
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primarily in the |
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Acquisition with cash on hand and borrowings under the |
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• During the year ended |
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• In the second quarter of 2024, divested all of our non-Permianassets for a purchase price of approximately |
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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION POLICY AND OBJECTIVES
We do not have any employees. The business and affairs of the Company are overseen by our board of directors. As discussed above, Diamondback provides personnel and general and administrative services to the Company, including the services of the executive officers and other employees, pursuant to the Services and Secondment Agreement. All of the individuals that conduct our business, including our executive officers, are employed and compensated by Diamondback or its wholly-owned subsidiary
All of our executive officers have responsibilities to us and Diamondback and allocate their time between managing our business and managing the businesses of Diamondback, except for
Beginning in 2024, under the Services and Secondment Agreement entered into by us with Diamondback in connection with the Conversion, Diamondback is required to determine, reasonably and in good faith, the percentage of the seconded employees' time spent providing services to us and provide details of such determination to our board of directors. Further, under the Services and Secondment Agreement, prior to the end of each calendar year, Diamondback is required to deliver a draft of the estimated annual budget (and supplement the subsequently revised budget) for seconded services to us covering the following year to our board of directors for review, and will consider any comments or modifications proposed by our board to the draft budget. Except for the foregoing limitations, any compensation decisions by Diamondback with respect to the seconded executive officers, including our NEOs and other seconded employees, are not and will not be subject to any approvals by our board of directors or any committees thereof. As discussed above, however, all determinations
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with respect to any equity awards that are or may be made from time to time to our executive officers, other key seconded employees and non-employeedirectors under the LTIP following the Conversion are made by our board of directors or, since its formation in
Our executive officers and other employees of Diamondback who provide services to us may participate in employee benefit plans and arrangements sponsored by Diamondback, including plans that may be established in the future. Our NEOs and certain other employees of Diamondback who provide services to us currently hold grants under Diamondback's equity incentive plan. Except with respect to any awards that may be granted under the LTIP or any successor long term incentive plan, our NEOs do not receive separate amounts of compensation in relation to the services they provide to us.
Under the Services and Secondment Agreement, we are required to reimburse Diamondback monthly for all reasonable costs and expenses (including administrative costs) Diamondback incurs and payments Diamondback makes on our behalf in connection with providing services to us under the Services and Secondment Agreement. Prior to the Conversion, the partnership agreement did not, and following the Conversion, except as otherwise discussed above, the Services and Secondment Agreement does not, set a limit on the expenses for which Diamondback may be reimbursed. These expenses include (i) salary, wages and cash bonuses (including payroll and withholding taxes associated therewith), (ii) amounts paid with respect to any seconded employee's paid time off and/or paid leave of absence, (iii) contributions made by Diamondback towards any benefit plan, (iv) the value of equity-related compensation granted to seconded employees during the period during which they are seconded, (v) any other employee benefit or compensation arrangement customarily provided to all employees by Diamondback for which Diamondback incurs costs with respect to seconded employees; and (vi) business travel expenses and other business expenses reimbursed in the normal course by Diamondback, such as subscriptions to business- related periodicals and dues to professional business organizations. Where it is not reasonably practicable to determine the amount of any such cost or expense, Diamondback determines, in good faith, a reasonable method of determining or estimating such cost or expense, and provides to the Viper board of directors the details of such method as well as the amount determined or estimated thereby. If the actual amount of any cost or expense, once known, varies from the estimate used for billing purposes hereunder, the difference, once determined, is reflected as either a credit or additional charge in the next monthly invoice issued by Diamondback to Viper. In addition, the Services and Secondment Agreement obligates us to reimburse Diamondback, on a pass-through-basis, for all costs and expenses attributable to performance of any contractor seconded to us. Furthermore, with respect to each seconded employee or contractor who performs services for both Diamondback and the Company or its subsidiaries, Diamondback determines, reasonably and in good faith, the percentage of such seconded person's time spent providing services to Viper and its subsidiaries (the "Secondment Allocation Percentage") and provides details of such determination to our board of directors. Each month, the amount of the reimbursement payable by the Company with respect to each seconded person is to be calculated by Diamondback by multiplying (x) the costs and expenses for such seconded person, by (y) the Secondment Allocation Percentage for such seconded person; provided, however, that travel expenses and other expenses incurred with respect to and/or reimbursable to a seconded person shall be paid by the party for whom the seconded person was working at the time such expenses were incurred, except that expenses related to activities that Diamondback determines, in good faith, benefit both the Company and its subsidiaries and Diamondback and its subsidiaries (e.g. some types of training) shall be allocated using the applicable Secondment Allocation Percentage. For 2024, Diamondback allocated to us the non-executiveemployee time under the above-referenced methodology, but determined it to be impracticable to allocate any specific Secondment Allocation Percentage for our NEOs who served in such capacity during 2024. We reimbursed Diamondback an aggregate of approximately
Although we bear an allocated portion of Diamondback's costs of providing compensation and benefits to our seconded employees, we have no control over such costs and did not establish, and do not direct, the
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compensation policies or practices of Diamondback. Except with respect to the performance-based restricted stock unit awards granted under the LTIP to our NEOs and certain non-executiveofficers in 2024 (the "2024 PSUs") (no executive officers received any equity awards under the LTIP in 2023 or 2022), compensation paid or awarded by us in 2024, 2023 and 2022 consisted only of the portion of compensation paid by Diamondback that is allocated to us, in the aggregate, pursuant to Diamondback's allocation methodology under the Services and Secondment Agreement. For additional information regarding the 2024 PSUs granted to our NEOs, see "2024 Performance Based Awards" below.
A full discussion of (i) the total executive compensation of Diamondback's 2024 NEOs by Diamondback, (ii) the mix of pay components paid to such NEOs by Diamondback, and (iii) the metrics used to measure such NEO's performance, is set forth in Diamondback's 2025 proxy statement, filed with the
The Role of Our Compensation Committee
Our compensation committee was formed by our board of directors, effective as of
The Role of Our Management
Apart from the executive compensation determined and paid by Diamondback discussed above, in 2024, our Chief Executive Officer and President evaluated executive and Company performance for the prior year and made recommendations to the compensation committee regarding the long term incentive awards under the LTIP for the NEOs and certain other non-executiveofficers (other than themselves). Our Chief Executive Officer also made recommendations to the compensation committee, in the President's absence, regarding the LTIP award under the Equity Incentive Plan for the President. While the compensation committee considers our Chief Executive Officer's and President's evaluation of the other NEOs and chooses to recommend any grants of equity awards under the LTIP (or any other compensation) as additional compensation to the total compensation granted or paid to them by Diamondback, the compensation committee ultimately determines the timing and the size of any such equity awards, any performance goals or targets applicable to such awards, the vesting schedule and any other terms of such award. No member of the management team, including the CEO, has a role in determining his or her own long term incentive ("LTI") award or any other compensation.
The compensation committee also evaluates, in his absence, our Chief Executive Officer's performance and determines whether to award him any additional compensation (beyond the compensation paid to him by Diamondback). In 2024, such additional compensation was structured as a performance-based LTI award under the LTIP, which was determined by the compensation committee after taking into consideration his leadership role, his individual performance and input from the compensation committee's independent compensation consultant, and was structured to be subject to the Company's performance over the three-year period as measured against the total stockholder retu("TSR") metric for the 2024 peer group determined by the
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compensation committee (the "2024
The Role of the Compensation Consultant
Since its formation in
The compensation committee reviewed the independence of Meridian during the applicable engagement period and determined that there were no conflicts of interest as a result of the compensation committee's engagement of such consultant. The compensation committee continues to evaluate the independence of its compensation consultant on an ongoing basis. Meridian did not provide any services to the Company during 2024 other than related to the 2024 LTI awards and the 2024 director compensation.
The compensation committee has sole authority to hire and terminate its independent compensation consultant, and the independent compensation consultant reports only to the compensation committee. From time to time, Meridian contacts the Company's executive officers for information necessary to fulfill its assignment and prepares reports for and on behalf of the compensation committee that certain executive officers also receive.
The Role of Benchmarking in Determining 2024 LTI Awards
In general, the compensation committee uses competitive market compensation data provided by Meridian, information gathered from Meridian's proprietary
Further, in considering the size and structure of the 2024 LTI awards, the compensation committee evaluated, among other things, aspects of executive compensation in general, market data and competitive analysis provided by Meridian, the Company's 2023 and multi-year performance, our executives' individual contributions to such performance, compensation alignment with future performance and stockholder value creation, performance-qualified equity awards, retention considerations, market alternatives for our executives, input obtained from our stockholders and our Chief Executive Officer's and President's recommendations (other than with respect to their own compensation). In sizing the 2024 LTI awards for our NEOs under the LTIP, the compensation committee also considered the proportionate downward adjustment to the size of our NEO's LTI awards under Diamondback's equity incentive plan made by Diamondback's compensation committee for 2024.
In structuring the 2024 LTI awards, the compensation committee established the 2024 peer group for purposes of determining such peer group's TSR for the performance period for such awards. For purposes of determining the 2024 TSR performance peer group, the compensation committee has considered pertinent financial measures for each company as provided by Meridian, including enterprise value and market capitalization and assets and revenue. See "2024
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Stockholder Engagement and 2024 "Say-On-Pay"Advisory Vote
The compensation committee values the insight we receive from our stockholders. During our inaugural 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our stockholders approved, on an advisory basis, and our board of directors implemented, an annual "say-on-pay"stockholder vote.
In 2024, approximately 87.9% of votes cast by our stockholders were in favor of the compensation paid to our NEOs. Although this vote demonstrates substantial support of the current executive compensation structure, representatives of our board and management team undertake stockholder engagement efforts to, among other things, solicit stockholder input on our corporate governance and executive compensation structure to ensure ongoing stockholder support. The compensation committee's decision to grant performance-based LTI awards on an annual basis to our NEOs and certain non-executiveofficers, beginning with 2024 LTI awards, was in large part in response to feedback received from our stockholders. Considering that our NEOs and other executive and non-executiveofficers are seconded to us under the Services and Secondment Agreement and compensated by Diamondback, which compensation decisions are within the discretion of Diamondback's compensation committee and not ours, no other changes were made to the executive compensation program for our NEOs as a result of the 2024 say-on-payvote. During 2024, we regularly engaged with our stockholders by attending investor conferences, participating in investor presentations and discussing the topics important to our stockholders during our earnings and other investor calls. During our stockholder engagement efforts, our stockholders did not express concerns with our executive compensation structure.
Long Term Equity Incentive Compensation
In order to incentivize our management and directors to continue to grow our business, prior to our 2014 initial public offering, the former
The purpose of the LTIP is to provide a means to attract and retain individuals who are essential to our growth and profitability and to encourage them to devote their best efforts to advancing our business by affording such individuals a means to acquire and maintain ownership of awards, the value of which is tied to the performance of our Class A Common Stock. The LTIP provides for the grant of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, distribution equivalent rights, cash awards, performance awards, other stock-based awards and substitute awards (collectively, "awards"). These awards are intended to align the interests of employees, officers, consultants and directors with those of our stockholders and to give such individuals the opportunity to share in our long term performance. Prior to the Conversion, any awards that were made under the LTIP were approved by the GP Board and, subsequent to the Conversion, are approved by our board or, since its formation in
2024 Performance Based Awards
In order to motivate and incentivize our NEOs who perform such services for us under the Services and Secondment Agreement and further align their interests with those of our stockholders, in
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performance, and the prevailing industry environment. Consistent with the compensation committee's focus on giving more weight to the performance component of our executive compensation, 100% of the 2024 LTI awards granted to our NEOs under the LTIP were performance-based restricted stock unit awards.
| Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units(1) |
Targeted Value of Total LTI Award(2) |
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20,870 | $ | 750,000 | |||||
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Kaes Van't Hof |
20,870 | $ | 750,000 | |||||
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6,957 | $ | 250,000 | |||||
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6,957 | $ | 250,000 | |||||
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6,957 | $ | 250,000 | |||||
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The three-year performance-based restricted stock units are for the performance period from |
| (2) |
The aggregate number of performance-based restricted stock units for each NEO for 2024 was calculated by dividing the targeted value of the total LTI award for each NEO indicated in the table by |
The performance-based restricted stock units are subject to the performance of our total stockholder returelative to our 2024 TSR performance peer group set forth in the table below for the applicable performance period. Additionally, the number of performance-based restricted stock units that would otherwise vest is further adjusted by the absolute TSR modifier illustrated below that reduces payouts upon negative performance period absolute TSR, and increases payouts when the annualized performance period absolute TSR is greater than 15%. No awards vest if the relative total stockholder retu(prior to any adjustment required by application of the absolute TSR modifier) falls below the 25th percentile. The performance-based restricted stock units are also subject to satisfaction of continuous service requirements.
|
Relative Total Stockholder RetuPercentile |
Target Grant Vesting Percentage |
|
|
<25th Percentile of |
0% of Target | |
|
Between 25th Percentile of |
Straight line interpolation between 50% and 150% of Target | |
|
At or above 75th Percentile of |
200% of Target |
|
Company Absolute Annualized Total Stockholder Return |
Absolute TSR Modifier to be Multiplied by the Target Grant Vesting |
|
|
Below 0% |
75% | |
|
Between 0% and 15% |
100% | |
|
Above 15% |
125% |
Target grant vesting percentage is expressed as a percentage of the target number of performance-based restricted stock units granted and, after being adjusted by the applicable absolute TSR modifier, may result in a settlement up to a maximum grant equal to 250% of the target number of performance-based restricted stock units granted.
These awards were designed to incentivize our NEOs to continue to contribute to the Company's performance at the top of its TSR performance peer group, similar to the Company's performance in prior periods. In addition, the time-based restricted stock unit awards were designed to promote retention of our NEOs who have been pursued not only by industry competitors but also by private equity groups.
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|
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
ETF Index (XOP)
|
||
under the Exchange Act. Under the clawback policy, the Company will recoup any excess incentive-based compensation earned by an executive officer (including each of our NEOs), on or after
trading plans meeting the requirements of SEC Rule
The general and supplemental insider trading policies were filed as Exhibit 19.1 and 19.2, respectively, to our Annual Report on Form
for the fiscal year ended
for that year. On occasion, the compensation committee may grant equity awards outside of our annual grant cycle for new hires, promotions, recognition, retention or other purposes. We do not currently grant, and have not in recent years granted, stock options, stock appreciation rights (SARs) or other instruments with option-like features to our NEOs or other employees. Neither our board of directors nor the compensation committee took any material nonpublic information into account when determining the timing and terms of equity awards in 2024, and the Company does not time the disclosure of material nonpublic information for the purpose of affecting the value of executive compensation.
2025 PROXY STATEMENT 37
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COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT
The compensation committee has reviewed and discussed the foregoing Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management. Based on its review and discussion with management, the compensation committee recommended to the board of directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement.
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION
The compensation committee of our board of directors currently consists of
COMPENSATION POLICIES AND PRACTICES AS THEY RELATE TO RISK MANAGEMENT
We are managed and operated by our board of directors and employees of Diamondback perform services on our behalf. For an analysis of any risks arising from Diamondback's compensation policies and practices, please read Diamondback's 2025 proxy statement. We previously made awards of restricted stock units subject to time-based vesting under our LTIP, which we believe drove a long term perspective without causing our executive officers to take unreasonable risks. Beginning in
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COMPENSATION TABLES
SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE
The following table provides information concerning compensation of our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and our three highest paid executive officers during 2024, each identified as one of our NEOs, for the fiscal years presented below, as applicable.
| Stock Awards ($)(1) | ||||||||||||
|
Principal Position |
Year(2) | Performance Based(3) |
Total ($) | |||||||||
|
Chief Executive Officer |
2024 | $ | 1,245,313 | $ | 1,245,313 | |||||||
| 2023 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
| 2022 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
Kaes Van't Hof President |
2024 | $ | 1,245,313 | $ | 1,245,313 | |||||||
| 2023 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
| 2022 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary |
2024 | $ | 415,124 | $ | 415,124 | |||||||
| 2023 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
| 2022 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
Executive Vice President and Chief Engineer |
2024 | $ | 415,124 | $ | 415,124 | |||||||
|
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
2024 | $ | 415,124 | $ | 415,124 | |||||||
| 2023 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
| 2022 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
| (1) |
The amounts shown in the above table under Stock Awards reflect the grant date fair value of performance-based restricted stock units granted in 2024, determined in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. Dividend equivalent rights were factored into the grant date fair value amounts reported in the above table. Details regarding equity awards that were outstanding at |
| (2) |
During 2024, 2023 and 2022, our NEOs did not receive any amounts of non-equitybased compensation from us in relation to the services they provide to us, and no equity awards were granted to our NEOs under the LTIP in 2022 or 2023. Our NEOs were employed and compensated by Diamondback (either directly or through its wholly-owned subsidiary |
| (3) |
Represents the grant date fair value (calculated as discussed in Note 1 above) of the performance-based restricted stock units for each NEO granted under Viper's LTIP for the applicable performance period, subject to the Company's attainment of certain pre-establishedperformance targets and the NEO's |
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| continuous employment. The Company utilized a Monte Carlo simulation to value the performance-based restricted stock units granted in 2024 based on the probable performance outcome for the target amount of units on the grant date, consistent with the estimate of aggregate compensation cost to be recognized over the service period. Actual payouts for the performance-based restricted stock units granted in 2024 can range from zero percent up to a maximum equal to 250% of the target number of performance-based restricted stock units granted. If the maximum number of performance-based restricted stock units and the Company's share price of |
| (4) |
|
2024 GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS UNDER THE LTIP
| Estimated Future Payouts Under LTIP Awards(1) |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Grant Date |
Threshold (#) |
Target (#) |
Maximum (#) |
Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards(2) |
|||||||||||||||
|
|
10,435 | 20,870 | 52,175 | $ | 1,245,313 | |||||||||||||||
|
Kaes Van't Hof |
10,435 | 20,870 | 52,175 | $ | 1,245,313 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
3,479 | 6,957 | 17,393 | $ | 415,124 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
3,479 | 6,957 | 17,393 | $ | 415,124 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
3,479 | 6,957 | 17,393 | $ | 415,124 | |||||||||||||||
| (1) |
For each NEO, these amounts represent the performance-based restricted stock units granted under the LTIP, which awards are subject to the satisfaction of certain relative TSR performance conditions compared to the Company's TSR performance peer group for the three-year performance period commencing on |
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| period. No awards vest if the relative TSR for the applicable performance period is below the threshold percentile. The absolute TSR modifier reduces payouts upon negative performance period TSR, pays at target upon achieving a performance period annual TSR of zero to 15%, and increases payouts upon achieving a performance period annual TSR of greater than 15%. |
| (2) |
The amounts shown reflect the grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted, determined in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. |
OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL 2024 YEAR-ENDUNDER THE LTIP
The following table provides information concerning equity awards outstanding for our NEOs at
|
|
LTIP Awards: Number of Unearned Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested(1) |
LTIP Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested(2) |
||||||
|
|
20,870 | $ | 1,024,091 | |||||
|
Kaes Van't Hof |
20,870 | $ | 1,024,091 | |||||
|
|
6,957 | $ | 341,380 | |||||
|
|
6,957 | $ | 341,380 | |||||
|
|
6,957 | $ | 341,380 | |||||
| (1) |
Reflects the target number of performance-based restricted stock units granted. These performance-based restricted stock units were granted under the LTIP subject to the satisfaction of certain relative TSR performance conditions as compared to our TSR performance peer group for the performance period commencing on |
| (2) |
Market value of performance-based restricted stock units that have not vested is based on the closing price of |
STOCK VESTED DURING FISCAL YEAR 2024 UNDER THE LTIP
No equity awards vested for our NEOs under the LTIP during the year ended
POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION, RESIGNATION OR CHANGE OF CONTROL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
During 2024, we had no employment, retirement, termination or severance agreements or change in control or similar arrangements, in each case, with our NEOs seconded to us by Diamondback, except for the change in control and certain other acceleration provisions contained in the performance-based restricted stock unit award agreements granted under the LTIP to such individuals. The following table provides information regarding
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potential payments to each of our NEOs in connection with certain termination events, including a termination related to a change of control of the Company and a termination due to the death or disability, as of
|
Termination Without Cause, Resignation for Good Reason or Change of Control(1) |
||||
|
|
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units(2) | |||
|
|
$ | 2,560,227 | ||
|
Kaes Van't Hof |
$ | 2,560,227 | ||
|
|
$ | 853,450 | ||
|
|
$ | 853,450 | ||
|
|
$ | 853,450 | ||
| (1) |
Represents the amounts payable to each NEO under the applicable equity award agreement governing the performance-based restricted stock units granted to each NEO under the LTIP during the year ended |
| (2) |
The potential payment value of the performance-based restricted stock unit awards that have not vested is based on the closing price of |
|
Termination Due to Death or Disability(3) |
||||
|
|
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units(4) | |||
|
|
$ | 1,024,091 | ||
|
Kaes Van't Hof |
$ | 1,024,091 | ||
|
|
$ | 341,380 | ||
|
|
$ | 341,380 | ||
|
|
$ | 341,380 | ||
| (3) |
Represents the amounts payable to each NEO under the applicable equity award agreement governing the performance-based restricted stock units granted to each NEO under the LTIP during the year ended |
| (4) |
The potential payment value of the performance-based restricted stock unit awards that have not vested is based on the closing price of |
PAY RATIO DISCLOSURE
As discussed in this proxy statement, we have no employees, and our day-to-daybusiness was managed by our board of directors during 2024. Diamondback provides certain management services to us, including the services of our executive officers and other seconded employees. Such seconded executive officers, including our Chief Executive Officer, and other seconded employees, receive no separate compensation from us, except for any equity awards that may be granted to them from time to time under the LTIP. Other than the equity awards granted to our Chief Executive Officer under the LTIP during the year ended
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of the Securities Act, public companies are required to provide certain information about the relationship between executive compensation actually paid to the Chief Executive Officer, who is referred to as our principal executive officer ("PEO"), and other named executive officers and certain financial performance of such companies. Other than the restricted stock unit awards granted to our Chief Executive Officer and other NEOs under Viper's LTIP during the year ended
is provided below for each of the last four years ended
|
Year
|
Summary
Compensation Table Total for PEO (1)
|
Compensation
Actually Paid to PEO (2)
|
Average
Summary Compensation Table Total for Non-PEO
NEOs (3)
|
Average
Compensation Actually Paid to Non-PEO
NEOs (4)
|
Value of Initial Fixed
Investment Based On: |
Net Income
(Loss)
(in thousands)
(7)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Total
Shareholder Retu (5)
|
Total Shareholder Retu (6)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2024
|
$ | 1,245,313 | $ | 1,892,428 | $ | 622,671 | $ | 946,237 | $ | 544.01 | $ | 457.20 | $ | 603,646 | ||||||||||||||
|
2023
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 328.99 | $ | 321.80 | $ | 501,341 | ||||||||||||||
|
2022
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 314.02 | $ | 360.36 | $ | 655,004 | ||||||||||||||
|
2021
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 14,892 | $ | 194.07 | $ | 216.74 | $ | 256,677 | ||||||||||||||
|
(1)
|
The dollar amounts reported are the amounts of total compensation reported in our Summary Compensation Table.
|
|
(2)
|
The dollar amounts reported represent the amount of "compensation actually paid," as computed in accordance with
|
|
Reported Summary
Compensation Table Total for PEO |
Deductions:
|
Additions:
|
Compensation
Actually Paid to PEO |
|||||||||||||
|
Year
|
Reported Value of
Equity Awards (a)
|
Equity Award
Adjustments (b)
|
||||||||||||||
|
2024
|
$ | 1,245,313 | $ | 1,245,313 | $ | 1,892,428 | $ | 1,892,428 | ||||||||
|
2023
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
2022
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
2021
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
(a)
|
The grant date fair value of equity awards represents the total of the amounts reported in the "Stock Awards" columns in the Summary Compensation Table for the applicable year.
|
|
(b)
|
The equity award adjustments for each applicable year include the addition (or subtraction, as applicable) of the following: (i) the
year-end
fair value of any equity awards granted in the applicable year that are outstanding and unvested as of the end of the year; (ii) the amount of change as of the end of the applicable year (from the end of the prior fiscal year) in fair value of any awards granted in prior years that are outstanding and unvested as of the end of the applicable year; (iii) for awards that are granted and vest in the same applicable year, the fair value as of the vesting date; (iv) for awards granted in prior years that vest in the applicable year, the amount equal to the change as of the vesting date (from the end of the prior fiscal year) in fair value; (v) for awards granted in prior years that are determined to fail to meet the applicable vesting conditions during the applicable year, a deduction for the amount equal to the fair value at the end of the prior fiscal year; and (vi) the dollar value of any dividends or other earnings paid on stock or option awards in the applicable year prior to the vesting |
2025 PROXY STATEMENT 43
|
date that are not otherwise reflected in the fair value of such award or included in any other component of total compensation for the applicable year. The valuation assumptions used to calculate fair values did not materially differ from those disclosed at the time of grant. The amounts deducted or added in calculating the equity award adjustments are as follows:
|
|
Year
|
Year End Fair
Value of Current Year Equity Awards that Remain Unvested at Year-End
|
Change in Fair
Value of Equity Awards Granted in are Unvested at Year-End
|
Fair Value as of
Vesting Date of Equity Awards Granted and Vested in the Year |
Change in Fair
Value of Equity Awards Granted in Vested in the Year |
Fair Value at the
End of the Prior Year of Equity Awards that Failed to Meet Vesting Conditions in the Year |
Value of Dividends
or other Earnings Paid on Stock or Option Awards not Otherwise Reflected in Fair Value |
Total
Equity Award
Adjustments |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
2024
|
$ | 1,842,340 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 50,088 | $ | 1,892,428 | ||||||||||||||
|
2023
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||||
|
2022
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||||
|
2021
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||||
|
(3)
|
The dollar amounts reported represent the average of the amounts reported for our
Non-PEO
NEOs as a group in the "Total" column of the Summary Compensation Table in each applicable year. The names of each of our Non-PEO
NEOs included for purposes of calculating the average amounts in each applicable year are as follows: (i) for 2024, |
|
(4)
|
The dollar amounts reported represent the average amount of "compensation actually paid" to our
Non-PEO
NEOs, as computed in accordance with Non-PEO
NEOs during the applicable year. In accordance with the Non-PEO
NEOs for each year to determine the compensation actually paid, using the same methodology described above in Note 2: |
|
Average Reported
Summary
Compensation Table Total for
Non-PEO
NEOs |
Deductions:
|
Additions:
|
Average
Compensation Actually Paid
to Non-PEO
NEOs |
|||||||||||||
|
Year
|
Average Reported
Value of Equity
Awards |
Average Equity
Award
Adjustments (a)
|
||||||||||||||
|
2024
|
$ | 622,671 | $ | 622,671 | $ | 946,237 | $ | 946,237 | ||||||||
|
2023
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
2022
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
|
2021
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | 14,892 | $ | 14,892 | ||||||||
|
Year
|
Year End Fair
Value of Current Year Equity Awards that Remain Unvested at Year-End
|
Change in Fair
Value of Equity Awards Granted in are Unvested at Year-End
|
Fair Value as of
Vesting Date of Equity Awards Granted and Vested in the Year |
Change in Fair
Value of Equity Awards Granted in Vested in the Year |
Fair Value at the
End of the Prior Year of Equity Awards that Failed to Meet Vesting Conditions in the Year |
Value of Dividends
or other Earnings Paid on Stock or Option Awards not Otherwise Reflected in Fair Value |
Total
Equity Award
Adjustments |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
2024
|
$ | 921,192 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 25,045 | $ | 946,237 | ||||||||||||||
|
2023
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||||
|
2022
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||||
|
2021
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 14,892 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 14,892 | ||||||||||||||
|
(5)
|
Cumulative TSR is calculated by dividing the sum of the cumulative amount of dividends for the four-year period included in this table, assuming dividend reinvestment, and the difference between the Company's share price at the end and the beginning
of
the measurement period by the Company's share price at the beginning of the measurement period. |
|
(6)
|
Represents the weighted peer group TSR, weighted according to the respective companies' stock market capitalization at
|
2025 PROXY STATEMENT 44
|
measured on a cumulative basis from the market close on
S-K
under the Exchange Act in Viper's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended |
|
(7)
|
The dollar amounts reported represent the amount of net income reflected in the Company's audited financial statements for the applicable year.
|
Versus Performance Disclosure."
2025 PROXY STATEMENT 45
2025 PROXY STATEMENT 46
|
Plan Category
|
Number of securities to be
issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights
|
Weighted-average
exercise price of |
Number of securities
remaining available for future issuance under equity
compensation plans
|
|||||||||
|
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
(1)
|
||||||||||||
|
Long Term Incentive Plan
|
296,226 | $ | - | 8,226,446 | ||||||||
|
(1)
|
The former
predecessor
in the Conversion, adopted the LTIP, effective as of |
2025 PROXY STATEMENT 47
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2024 DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
Our non-employeedirectors receive a combination of cash and equity compensation designed to attract and retain qualified candidates to serve on our board of directors. In setting non-employeedirector compensation, our board of directors considers the significant amount of time that directors spend in fulfilling their duties to the Company and our stockholders as well as the skill level required by our non-employeedirectors. The compensation committee is responsible for determining the type and amount of compensation for our non-employeedirectors. The compensation committee engaged Meridian, as its independent compensation consultant, to assist in the annual review of non-employeedirector compensation with a view to provide a pay program that compensates non-employeedirectors near the median of our peers by providing benchmark compensation data and recommendations for non-employeedirector compensation program design. Employee directors are not separately compensated for their service on the board.
Any executive officer or employee of the Company, or Diamondback, who also serves as our director does not receive additional compensation for his or her service as our director. Directors who are not executive officers or employees of the Company, or of Diamondback, receive compensation as "non-employeedirectors" as set by our board of directors and the compensation committee.
Each non-employeedirector receives a compensation package that consists of an annual cash retainer of
The following table sets forth the aggregate dollar amount of all fees earned to each of the non-employeedirectors during 2024 for their services on the board:
|
|
Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($)(1) |
Stock Awards ($)(2) |
Total ($) |
|||||||||
|
|
$ | 72,236 | $ | 101,101 | $ | 173,337 | ||||||
|
|
$ | 78,158 | $ | 101,101 | $ | 179,259 | ||||||
|
|
$ | 74,079 | $ | 101,101 | $ | 175,180 | ||||||
|
|
$ | 83,158 | $ | 101,101 | $ | 184,259 | ||||||
|
|
$ | 79,796 | $ | 101,101 | $ | 180,897 | ||||||
|
|
$ | 60,000 | $ | 101,101 | $ | 161,101 | ||||||
| (1) |
This column reflects the value of a director's annual retainer. Of these amounts, |
| (2) |
The amount in this column represents the aggregate grant date fair value of phantom units granted in the fiscal year calculated in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, "Compensation-Stock Compensation." |
| (3) |
Each of |
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| (4) |
Each of |
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STOCK OWNERSHIP
HOLDINGS OF MAJOR STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership as of
|
|
Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership |
Percent of Class | ||||||
|
|
85,431,453 | (1)(2) | 39.0 | %(1)(2) | ||||
|
c/o |
11,628,765 | 8.9 | % | |||||
|
c/o EnCap In vestments L.P. |
12,061,914 | 8.4 | % | |||||
|
|
9,855,556 | 7.5 | % | |||||
|
50 Hudson Yards |
8,760,345 | 6.7 | % | |||||
|
T. |
8,248,043 | 6.3 | % | |||||
| (1) |
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with |
| (2) |
Based on Schedule 13D/A filed by Diamondback and |
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| 77,364,925 shares of Class B Common Stock freely exchangeable by Diamondback into shares of Class A Common Stock, together with an equal number of OpCo Units held by Diamondback, and (ii) 8,066,528 shares of Class B Common Stock freely exchangeable by |
| (3) |
Based solely on Schedule 13G/A jointly filed with the |
| (4) |
Based solely on Schedule 13G jointly filed with the |
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| Stock outstanding, which consists of: (a) a total of 131,323,078 shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding as of |
| (5) |
Based solely on Schedule 13G/A jointly filed with the |
| (6) |
Based solely on Schedule 13G/A jointly filed with the |
| (7) |
Based solely on Schedule 13G/A jointly filed with the |
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HOLDINGS OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
Holdings of Viper Class A Common Stock
The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership as of
|
|
Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned(1) |
Percentage of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned |
||||||
|
Kaes Van't Hof(2) |
35,362 | * | ||||||
|
|
15,830 | * | ||||||
|
|
11,540 | * | ||||||
|
|
4,253 | * | ||||||
|
|
1,000 | * | ||||||
|
|
106,169 | * | ||||||
|
|
3,863 | * | ||||||
|
|
39,987 | * | ||||||
|
|
9,770 | * | ||||||
|
|
72,015 | * | ||||||
|
|
5,779 | * | ||||||
|
|
26,060 | * | ||||||
|
All directors and executive officers as a group (12 persons) |
331,628 | * | ||||||
| * |
Less than 1%. |
| (1) |
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with |
| (2) |
Excludes (i) 20,870 performance-based restricted stock units awarded to |
| (3) |
Excludes (i) 1,855 restricted stock units vesting on |
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| that are subject to the satisfaction of certain stockholder retuperformance conditions relative to Viper's TSR performance peer group during the three-year performance period ending on |
| (4) |
Excludes (i) 6,957 performance-based restricted stock units awarded to |
| (5) |
Excludes (i) 6,957 performance-based restricted stock units awarded to |
| (6) |
Excludes (i) 6,957 performance-based restricted stock units awarded to |
| (7) |
Reflects shares of Class A Common Stock held by |
| (8) |
Excludes 2,555 unvested restricted stock units that will vest on |
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Holdings of Diamondback Common Stock
The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership as of
| Shares of Diamondback Common Stock Beneficially Owned(1) |
||||||||
|
|
Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership |
Percentage of Class |
||||||
|
Kaes Van't Hof(2) |
113,264 | * | ||||||
|
|
99,747 | * | ||||||
|
|
50,160 | * | ||||||
|
|
14,717 | * | ||||||
|
|
280 | * | ||||||
|
|
512,024 | * | ||||||
|
|
- | - | ||||||
|
|
- | - | ||||||
|
|
- | - | ||||||
|
|
- | - | ||||||
|
|
- | - | ||||||
|
|
12,135 | * | ||||||
|
All directors and executive officers as a group (12 persons) |
802,327 | * | ||||||
| * |
Less than 1%. |
| (1) |
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with |
| (2) |
Excludes (i) 3,003 restricted stock units that are scheduled to vest on |
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| (3) |
Excludes (i) 1,539 restricted stock units that are scheduled to on |
| (4) |
Excludes (i) 1,877 restricted stock units that are scheduled to vest on |
| (5) |
Excludes (i) 714 restricted stock units that are scheduled to vest on |
| (6) |
Reflects (i) 79,673 shares held by |
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| subject to the gift, except to the extent of his actual pecuniary interest therein. Excludes (i) 7,320 restricted stock units that are scheduled to vest on |
| (7) |
Includes 1,035 restricted stock units, which will vest on the earlier of |
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STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH
Our stock performance graph providing a comparison of our cumulative TSR during the five-year period beginning on
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Review and Approval of Related Party Transactions
Our board of directors has adopted a written policy regarding related party transactions. Under the policy, the audit committee reviews and approves all relationships and transactions in which we and our directors, director nominees and executive officers and their immediate family members, as well as holders of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities and their immediate family members, have a direct or indirect material interest. The policy provides that the following do not create a material direct or indirect interest on behalf of the related party and are therefore not related party transactions:
| • |
a transaction involving compensation of directors; |
| • |
a transaction involving compensation of an executive officer or involving an employment agreement, severance arrangement, change in control provision or agreement or special supplemental benefit of an executive officer; |
| • |
a transaction with a related party involving less than |
| • |
a transaction in which the interest of the related party arises solely from the ownership of a class of our equity securities and all holders of that class receive the same benefit on a pro rata basis; |
| • |
a transaction involving indemnification payments and payments under directors and officers indemnification insurance policies made pursuant to our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or pursuant to any policy, agreement or instrument of the Company or to which the Company is bound; and |
| • |
a transaction in which the interest of the related party arises solely from indebtedness of a 5% stockholder or an "immediate family member" of a 5% stockholder. |
The policy supplements the conflict of interest provisions in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.
Although our management believes that the terms of the related party transactions described below are reasonable, it is possible that we could have negotiated more favorable terms for such transactions with unrelated third parties.
Payments to Diamondback and Its Affiliates under the Services and Secondment Agreement
Under the Services and Secondment Agreement, we are required to reimburse Diamondback for all reasonable costs and expenses (including administrative costs) Diamondback incurs and payments Diamondback makes on our behalf in connection with providing services to us under the Services and Secondment Agreement. Except as discussed under the heading "Compensation Discussion and Analysis-Executive Compensation Policy and Objectives," the Services and Secondment Agreement does not set a limit on the amount of expenses for which Diamondback is entitled to reimbursement by us for the services provided by Diamondback under the Services and Secondment Agreement. The reimbursable expenses include salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to persons who perform services for us or on our behalf and other expenses allocated to us in connection with such services.
For the year ended
Dividends paid to Diamondback and
Diamondback and
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purpose by the board of directors, and (ii) the distributions the Operating Company makes in respect of the OpCo Units. Following the secondary underwritten public offering of Class A Common Stock completed by Diamondback on March 8, 2024, Diamondback held no shares of Class A Common Stock. Under the terms of our certificate of incorporation, we are required to pay a quarterly preferred dividend in respect of our Class B Common Stock, all of which is held by Diamondback,
Diamondback Registration Rights Agreement and Exchange Agreement
On June 23, 2014, in connection with its initial public offering, the Partnership entered into a registration rights agreement with Diamondback, which registration rights agreement was subsequently amended and restated on May 9, 2018 in connection with the Partnership's recapitalization transaction completed on May 10, 2023 and was further amended and restated on November 10, 2023 in connection with the Conversion completed on November 13, 2023 (as so amended and restated, the "Diamondback Registration Rights Agreement"). Pursuant to the Diamondback Registration Rights Agreement, Diamondback has certain demand registration rights with respect to our securities held by it or its subsidiaries. Pursuant to the terms of the Diamondback Registration Rights Agreement, we agreed to indemnify Diamondback and its subsidiaries acting as the selling stockholders against certain liabilities and the selling stockholders have agreed to indemnify us against certain liabilities, which may arise from any written information furnished to us by the selling stockholders expressly for use in any testing-the-waterscommunication, registration statement, any preliminary prospectus or prospectus supplement, free writing prospectus or final prospectus or prospectus supplement, or any amendment or supplement thereof.
On March 5, 2024, in connection with Diamondback's' exercise of certain registration rights under the Diamondback Registration Rights Agreement, we filed our registration statement on Form S-3ASRregistering for resale up to an aggregate of 98,656,453 shares of our Class A Common Stock beneficially owned at the time of such filing by Diamondback and
Pursuant to the Diamondback Registration Rights Agreement, we paid all expenses relating to such registration of shares of Class A Common Stock by Diamondback and
Agreements with TWR IV and Morita Ranches Equity Recipients
In connection with the closing of the TWR IV Acquisition, we and OpCo entered into the Class B Common Stock Option Agreement with TWR IV, pursuant to which TWR IV may exercise the TWR Class
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In addition, at the closing of the TWR IV Acquisition, (i) we, Diamondback,
At the closing of the TWR IV Acquisition, we also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement (as subsequently amended and restated, the "TWR IV Registration Rights Agreement"), pursuant to which (i) TWR IV received certain demand and piggyback registration rights with respect the shares of our Class A Common Stock to be received by TWR IV upon exercise of the TWR Exchange Rights and, if applicable, the TWR Class
At the closing of the Morita Ranches Acquisition, the Morita Ranches Equity Recipients (i) became parties to the Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Agreement of OpCo, dated as of October 1, 2024, as amended, and (ii) entered into an exchange agreement (the "Morita Ranches Exchange Agreement") with us and OpCo to provide for the right to exchange (the "Morita Ranches Exchange Rights") up to 2,400,297 OpCo Units and an equal number of shares of our Class B Common Stock received by the Morita Ranches Equity Recipients at closing of the Morita Ranches Acquisitions, for the same number of shares of our Class A Common Stock.
In addition, at the closing of the Morita Ranches Acquisition, we also entered into a registration rights agreement with the Morita Ranches Equity Recipients (the "Morita Ranches Registration Rights Agreement"), pursuant to which (i) the Morita Ranches Equity Recipients received certain demand and piggyback registration rights with respect to the shares of our Class A Common Stock that may be acquired by them upon exercise of the Morita Ranches Exchange Rights. Each of TWR IV and the Morita Ranches Equity Recipients is an affiliate of EnCap Partners GP, LLC, which beneficially owned approximately 8.4% of our Class A Common Stock, on a fully converted basis, as of April 1, 2025. The TWR IV Registration Rights Agreement and the Morita Ranches Registration Rights Agreements are collectively referred to herein as the "EnCap Registration Rights Agreements."
To fulfill certain of our registration obligations under the EnCap Registration Rights Agreements, on April 1, 2025, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASRto cover the resale of up to an aggregate of 12,493,967 shares of Class A Common Stock that may be received and sold by TWR IV or the Morita Ranches Equity Recipients, or their permitted transferees, upon exercise of the TWR Exchange Rights or the Morita Ranches Exchange Rights, as applicable, under the Amended Exchange Agreement and the Morita Ranches Exchange Agreement, as applicable, which registration statement on Form S-3ASR became automatically effective upon filing.
Pursuant to the EnCap Registration Rights Agreements, we will pay all expenses relating to the registration, offering and listing of these shares, except that the selling stockholders under the registration statement or in any offering thereunder will pay any underwriting fees, discounts and commissions, placement fees of underwriters, broker commissions, transfer taxes and certain attorney's fees. Pursuant to the terms of the EnCap Registration Rights Agreements, we agreed to indemnify TWR IV and the Morita Ranches Equity Recipients against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and they have agreed to indemnify us against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, which may arise from any written information furnished to us by them expressly for use in connection with the registration statement or any offering thereunder. Our estimated expenses in connection with the filing of the registration statement contemplated by the EnCap Registration Rights Agreements were approximately $0.2 million.
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Tax Sharing Agreement
In connection with the closing of the Partnership's initial public offering, we entered into a tax sharing agreement with Diamondback, dated June 23, 2014, which was amended and restated on November 10, 2023 in connection with Conversion completed on November 13, 2023 (as so amended and restated, the "Tax Sharing Agreement"). Under the terms and conditions of the Tax Sharing Agreement, we agreed to reimburse Diamondback for our share of state and local income and other taxes for which our activities are included in a combined or consolidated tax retufiled by Diamondback with respect to taxable periods including or beginning on June 23, 2014. The amount of any such reimbursement is limited to the tax that we would have paid had we not been included in a combined group with Diamondback. Diamondback may use its tax attributes to cause its combined or consolidated group, of which we may be a member for this purpose, to owe less or no tax. In such a situation, we agreed to reimburse Diamondback for the tax we would have owed had the tax attributes not been available or used for our benefit, even though Diamondback had no cash tax expense for that period. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized $2.4 million of state income tax expense payable under the Tax Sharing Agreement.
Lease Bonus Payments
During the year ended December 31, 2024, Diamondback paid us $0.2 million in lease bonus payments for three new leases from Viper.
Surface Use
Diamondback periodically pays us for surface use charges and right of way easements related to properties that Diamondback leases from us. During the year ended December 31, 2024, Diamondback paid us $0.6 million for such purposes.
Pending Drop Down
On January 30, 2025, we announced our entry into the Drop Down Purchase Agreement with certain subsidiaries of our parent Diamondback, pursuant to which OpCo has agreed to acquire the Target Interests from
If the Drop Down is completed, the aggregate consideration in exchange for the Target Interests will be (i) the Cash Consideration of $1.0 billion and (ii) the Equity Issuance of 69,626,640 OpCo Units and an equivalent number of shares of our Class B Common Stock, in each case subject to customary closing adjustments, including, among other things, for net title benefits. We expect to fund the Cash Consideration for the Drop Down through a combination of cash on hand, borrowings under OpCo's revolving credit facility, and proceeds from the 2025 Equity Offering.
The completion of the Drop Down is subject to (i) the approval of the Drop Down by the holders of a majority of the voting power of our common stock entitled to vote at the special meeting of our stockholders, voting together as a single class, excluding the shares beneficially owned by Diamondback and its subsidiaries, (ii) the approval of the Equity Issuance by a majority of the total votes cast on such proposal at the special meeting, (iii) the
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expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, which expired at 11:59 p.m. EasteTime on March 10, 2025, and (iv) the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions.
We expect to hold the special meeting of our stockholders, and assuming the requisite stockholder approval is obtained, close the Drop Down, on May 1, 2025. A copy of the definitive proxy materials for the special meeting was mailed to each stockholder entitled to vote at our special meeting. See also "Conversion to Corporation, Drop Down and Changes In "Controlled Company" Status-Pending Drop Down" beginning on page 2.
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PROPOSAL 2: APPROVE, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, THE COMPANY'S EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
In accordance with Section 14A of the Exchange Act, our board of directors is providing our stockholders with a non-bindingadvisory vote on the Company's executive compensation structure as reported in this proxy statement, or "say on pay" vote. The Company's stockholders are being asked to vote on the following resolution:
"RESOLVED, that the compensation structure with respect to the Company's named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-Kof the Securities Act, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, compensation tables and narrative discussion, is hereby approved."
While the vote on executive compensation is non-bindingand solely advisory in nature, our board of directors and the compensation committee will review and consider the "say on pay" voting results when making future decisions regarding our executive compensation program. The next "say on pay" vote will take place at our 2026 Annual Meeting.
BOARD VOTING RECOMMENDATION
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT STOCKHOLDERS VOTE "FOR" THE APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPANY'S EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION STRUCTURE AS REPORTED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.
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PROPOSAL 3: RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT OF OUR INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
WHAT AM I VOTING ON?
You are voting on a proposal to ratify the appointment of
WHAT SERVICES DO THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS PROVIDE?
Audit services of
HOW MUCH WERE THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS PAID IN 2024 AND 2023?
The following table summarizes the aggregate fees of
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| (In thousands) | ||||||||
|
Audit fees(1) |
$ | 725 | $ | 654 | ||||
|
Audit-related fees(2) |
- | 295 | ||||||
|
Tax fees(3) |
- | - | ||||||
|
All other fees(4) |
- | - | ||||||
|
Total |
$ | 725 | $ | 949 | ||||
| (1) |
Audit fees represent aggregate fees for audit services, which relate to the fiscal year consolidated audit, quarterly reviews, registration statements, and comfort letters. |
| (2) |
Audit-related fees for the year ended December 31, 2023 represent fees for an acquired business audit required pursuant to Regulation S-X,Rule 3-05. |
| (3) |
Tax fees represent amounts billed in each of the years presented for professional services rendered in connection with tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning. |
| (4) |
All other fees represent amounts billed in each of the years presented for services not classifiable under the other categories listed in the table above. |
DOES THE AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVE THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY GRANT THORNTON?
It is our audit committee's policy to pre-approveall audit, audit related and permissible non-auditservices rendered to us by our independent auditor. Consistent with such policy, all of the fees listed above that we incurred for services rendered by
WILL A REPRESENTATIVE OF GRANT THORNTON BE PRESENT AT THE MEETING?
Yes, one or more representatives of
WHAT VOTE IS REQUIRED TO APPROVE THIS PROPOSAL?
Stockholder ratification of the appointment of our independent auditors is not required by the Company's bylaws or otherwise. However, we are submitting this proposal to the stockholders as a matter of good corporate
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practice. Approval of this proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the proposal. If the appointment of
HAS GRANT THORNTON ALWAYS SERVED AS VIPER'S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS?
WHAT DOES THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMEND?
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE "FOR" THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF GRANT THORNTON LLP AS THE COMPANY'S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2025.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING
Who is soliciting my vote?
The board of directors of
What am I voting on, what are the voting options and how does the board of directors recommend that I vote my shares?
|
Brief Description of Proposal |
Voting Options |
Board's Recommendation |
||||||
| 1. | Election of Directors | FOR, AGAINSTor ABSTAIN (for each director nominee) | ü | FOReach nominee | ||||
| 2. | Approval, on an advisory basis, of the Company's executive compensation structure | FOR, AGAINSTor ABSTAIN | ü | FOR | ||||
| 3. | Ratify the appointment of our independent auditors | FOR, AGAINSTor ABSTAIN | ü | FOR | ||||
Who is entitled to vote?
You may vote if you were the record owner of our common stock as of the close of business on April 1, 2025. Each share of Class A Common Stock and each share of Class B Common Stock is entitled to one vote. As of April 1, 2025, we had 131,323,078 shares of Class A Common Stock and 87,831,750 shares of Class B Common Stock outstanding and entitled to vote. As provided in our certificate of incorporation, except as otherwise expressly required thereunder or by applicable law, the holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock will vote together as a single class (or, if the holders of more than one series of preferred stock are entitled to vote together with the holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, together as a single class with the holders of any such other series of preferred stock) on all matters submitted to the vote of stockholders generally. As of April 1, 2025, no shares of any series of preferred stock were issued by us. There is no cumulative voting.
How many votes must be present to hold the meeting?
Your shares are counted as present at the Annual Meeting if you attend the meeting and vote in person or if you properly grant your proxy by telephone, Internet or mail. In order for us to hold our meeting, holders of a majority of the voting power of our outstanding shares of common stock as of the close of business on April 1, 2025 must be present in person or by proxy at the meeting. This is referred to as a quorum. Abstentions and broker non-voteswill be counted for purposes of establishing a quorum at the meeting.
What is a broker non-vote?
If a broker does not have discretion to vote shares held in street name on a particular proposal and does not receive instructions from the beneficial owner on how to vote those shares, the broker may not vote on that proposal. This is known as a broker non-vote. No broker may vote your shares without your specific instructions on any of the proposals to be considered at the Annual Meeting other than on the proposals that are considered to be "routine." Under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which apply to brokers regardless of whether an issuer is listed on the NYSE or Nasdaq, Proposal 3 relating to the ratification of our independent auditors is considered to be a "routine" matter. Accordingly, brokers will have discretionary authority to vote on Proposal 3, but will not have discretionary authority to vote on Proposal 1 or Proposal 2 at the Annual Meeting without your specific instructions.
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How many votes are needed to approve each of the proposals, and what are the effects of abstentions, broker non-votesand unmarked, signed proxy cards?
|
Brief Description of Proposal |
Vote Required to Adopt the Proposal |
Effect of Abstentions |
Effect of Broker-Non Votes |
Unmarked/Signed Proxy Cards |
||||||
| 1. | Election of Directors | Directors will be elected by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, voting together as a single class, present in person or by proxy, which means that the number of shares of Common Stock voted "FOR" a director nominee must exceed the number of votes cast "AGAINST" that nominee(1) | None | None | FOReach nominee | |||||
| 2. | Approval, on an advisory basis, of the Company's executive compensation structure | Majority of the votes cast by the holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock voting together as a single class, present in person or represented by proxy | None | None | FOR | |||||
| 3. | Ratify the appointment of our independent auditors | Majority of the votes cast by the holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, voting together as a single class, present in person or represented by proxy | None | Not applicable | FOR | |||||
| (1) |
If any incumbent director is not elected because he or she does not receive a majority of the votes cast, he or she is required to immediately tender his or her resignation for consideration by our board of directors. Our board of directors will evaluate whether to accept or reject such resignation, or whether other action should be taken; provided, however, that the board will act on such resignation and publicly disclose its decision to accept or reject such resignation and the rationale behind such decision within 90 days from the date of the certification of the director election results. |
How do I vote?
You can vote either in person at the meeting or by proxy without attending the meeting.
To vote by proxy, you may vote by telephone or through the Internet by following the instructions included on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or proxy card, or, if you request to receive a paper copy of the proxy card, by returning a signed, dated and marked proxy card. If you are a registered holder or hold your shares in street name, votes submitted by Internet or telephone must be received by 1:00 a.m., Central Time, on May 20, 2025.
Even if you plan to attend the meeting, we encourage you to vote your shares by proxy. If you plan to vote in person at the Annual Meeting, and you hold your stock in street name, you must obtain a proxy from your broker and bring that proxy to the meeting. See also "How to attend the Annual Meeting?" below.
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May I change my vote?
Yes, if you are a registered stockholder. You may change or revoke your vote at any time before the polls close at the Annual Meeting. You may do this by:
| • |
If you voted by telephone or the internet, access the method you used and follow the instructions given for revoking a proxy; |
| • |
If you mailed a signed proxy card, then mail a new valid proxy card bearing a later date and retuit to us prior to the Annual Meeting; |
| • |
Submitting another valid proxy bearing a later date and returning it to us prior to the meeting; |
| • |
Sending our Secretary a written document revoking your earlier proxy; or |
| • |
Voting again at the Annual Meeting. |
However, if you are a beneficial owner and your shares are held in street name by a broker or other nominee, you must contact your broker or such other nominee to change or revoke your proxy.
Who counts the votes?
We have engaged
How are proxies being solicited and who pays the related expenses?
Our board of directors has sent you this proxy statement. Our directors, officers and employees may solicit proxies by mail, by telephone or in person. Those persons will receive no additional compensation for any solicitation activities. We will request banking institutions, brokerage firms, custodians, trustees, nominees and fiduciaries to forward solicitation materials to the beneficial owners of common stock held of record by those entities, and we will, upon the request of those record holders, reimburse reasonable forwarding expenses. We have engaged Georgeson LLC ("Georgeson") to assist in the distribution of proxy materials and solicitation of votes. The Company will pay Georgeson a base fee of $19,500, plus customary costs and expenses, for these services and has agreed to indemnify Georgeson against certain liabilities in connection with its engagement. We will pay the costs of preparing, printing, assembling and mailing the proxy materials used in the solicitation of proxies.
Will my vote be confidential?
Yes. As a matter
Where can I find the voting results of the Annual Meeting?
We will report the voting results on a Current Report on Form 8-Kwhich will be filed with the
Will my shares be voted if I don't provide my proxy and don't attend the Annual Meeting?
If you do not provide a proxy or vote your shares held in your name, your shares will not be voted.
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If you hold your shares in street name, your broker may be able to vote your shares for certain "routine" matters even if you do not provide the broker with voting instructions. As discussed above, Proposal 3 relating to the ratification of
Proposals 1 and 2 are not considered routine. As a result, no broker may vote your shares on these proposals without your specific instructions.
Could other matters be decided at the Annual Meeting?
We are not aware of any other matters that will be considered at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly presented to be considered and voted on at the Annual Meeting, the persons named in your proxies will vote in accordance with their best judgment. Discretionary authority to vote on other matters is included in the proxy.
Who can attend the meeting?
The Annual Meeting is only open to holders of our Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock as of the record date, April 1, 2025.
What do I need to bring to attend the Annual Meeting?
You will need proof of ownership of our common stock to attend the meeting in person. If your shares are in the name of your broker or bank or other nominee, you will need to bring evidence of your stock ownership, such as your most recent brokerage statement. All stockholders will be required to present valid picture identification. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE VALID PICTURE IDENTIFICATION AND PROOF THAT YOU OWN SHARES OF OUR STOCK AS OF THE RECORD DATE, YOU MAY NOT BE ADMITTED INTO THE MEETING.
How to attend the Annual Meeting?
The Annual Meeting will be held at the
How can I access the Company's proxy materials and annual report electronically?
This proxy statement and the Company's 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-Kare available at www.envisionreports.com/VNOM2.
Why did I receive a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials instead of a paper copy of the proxy materials?
We are providing access to our proxy materials, including this proxy statement and our 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K,over the Internet in accordance with the rules of the
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Your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials contains instructions on how to access our proxy materials over the Internet, as well as instructions on how to request a paper copy of our proxy materials by mail.
Our proxy materials are also available at www.envisionreports.com/VNOM2.
How can I request a full set of proxy materials?
You may request, without charge, a full set of our proxy materials, including our 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K,for one year following the annual meeting of stockholders. If a broker or other nominee holds your shares of record, you may request a full set of our proxy materials by following the instructions contained in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you received.
What is householding?
The
If you and other residents at your mailing address own shares of our common stock, you may have only received one Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or Annual Report and proxy statement, unless we have received contrary instructions from you. If you would like to receive your own set of Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or the annual report and proxy statement this year or in future years, follow the instructions described below. We will promptly send a separate copy of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or Annual Report and proxy statement, as applicable. Similarly, if you share an address with another Viper stockholder and together both of you would like to receive in the future only a single Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or annual report and proxy statement, follow these instructions:
| • |
If your shares of our Common Stock are registered in your own name, please contact our transfer agent, |
| • |
If a broker or other nominee holds your shares, please contact your broker or nominee. |
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SUBMISSION OF FUTURE STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS
Under
Our proxy access bylaw provisions permit a stockholder, or a group of up to 20 eligible stockholders, that has continuously owned for no less than three years at least 3% of our outstanding common stock, to nominate and include in our proxy materials up to the greater of two directors and 20% of the number of directors currently serving on the Company's board, provided that the stockholder(s) and the nominee(s) satisfy the requirements specified in our bylaws. Subject to compliance with other applicable requirements specified in the proxy access provisions of our bylaws, stockholder director nominations for inclusion in our proxy materials for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders must be received between November 11, 2025 and December 11, 2025.
Stockholders who wish to propose a matter for action at the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, including the nomination of directors, but who do not wish to have the proposal or nomination included in the proxy statement, must notify the Company in writing of the information required by the provisions of our bylaws dealing with stockholder proposals. The notice must be delivered to our Secretary between January 20, 2026 and February 19, 2026. You can obtain a copy of our bylaws by writing the Secretary at the address below.
In addition to satisfying the foregoing requirements under our bylaws and comply with the
All written proposals should be directed to Secretary,
The board of directors is responsible for selecting and recommending director candidates and will consider nominees recommended by stockholders. If you wish to have the board of directors consider a nominee for director, you must send a written notice to our Secretary at the address provided above and include the information required by our bylaws and discussed on this page 72.
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OTHER MATTERS
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Based solely on the review of Forms 3 and 4 and amendments thereto furnished to Viper during 2024, including those reports filed on behalf of our directors and Section 16 officers pursuant to powers of attorney, no person subject to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, failed to file on a timely basis during 2024 any required Section 16 filings.
Availability of Annual Report on Form 10-K
Forward-Looking Statements
This proxy statement contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, which involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding Viper's: future performance; business strategy; future operations and plans and objectives of management (including plans for future cash flow from operations and for executing environmental strategies) are forward-looking statements. When used in this proxy statement, the words "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "guidance," "intend," "may," "model," "outlook," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "predict," "project," "seek," "should," "target," "will," "would," and similar expressions (including the negative of such terms) as they relate to Viper are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Although Viper believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, they involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and, in many cases, beyond Viper's control. Accordingly, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and Viper's actual outcomes could differ materially from what Viper has expressed in its forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause the outcomes to differ materially include (but are not limited to) the following: changes in supply and demand levels for oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, and the resulting impact on the price for those commodities; the impact of public health crises, including epidemic or pandemic diseases, and any related company or government policies or actions; actions taken by the members of
In light of these factors, the events anticipated by Viper's forward-looking statements may not occur at the time anticipated or at all. Moreover, Viper operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment and new risks emerge from time to time. Viper cannot predict all risks, nor can it assess the impact of all factors on its
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business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by any forward-looking statements it may make. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made in this proxy statement. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this proxy statement or, if earlier, as of the date they were made. Viper does not intend to, and disclaims any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements unless required by applicable law.
No reports, documents or websites that are cited or referred to in this proxy statement shall be deemed to form part of, or to be incorporated by reference into, this proxy statement.
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SCHEDULE A NON-GAAP RECONCILIATIONS
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental non-GAAPfinancial measure that is used by management and external users of our financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, lenders and rating agencies. Viper defines "Adjusted EBITDA" as net income (loss) attributable to
The following tables present a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measure of net income (loss) to the non-GAAPfinancial measures of Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
| Year Ended | ||||
| December 31, 2024 | ||||
|
Net income (loss) attributable to |
$ | 359,245 | ||
|
Net income (loss) attributable to non-controllinginterest |
244,401 | |||
|
Net income (loss) |
603,646 | |||
|
Interest expense, net |
73,848 | |||
|
Non-cashshare-based compensation expense |
2,975 | |||
|
Depletion |
214,412 | |||
|
Non-cash(gain) loss on derivative instruments |
(14,364 | ) | ||
|
Other non-cashoperating expenses |
55 | |||
|
Other non-recurringexpenses |
1,314 | |||
|
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes |
(99,711 | ) | ||
|
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA |
$ | 782,175 | ||
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MMMMMMMMMMMM Viper Energy, Inc. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM C123456789 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext ENDORSEMENT_LINE______________ SACKPACK_____________ 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext Your vote matters - here's how to vote! MR A SAMPLE You may vote online or by phone instead of mailing this card. DESIGNATION (IF ANY) ADD 1 Votes submitted electronically must be 000001 ADD 2 received by 1:00 AM, Central Time, on ADD 3 May 20, 2025. ADD 4 MMMMMMMMM ADD 5 Online ADD 6 Go to https://www.envisionreports.com/VNOM or scan the QR code - login details are located in the shaded bar below. Phone Call toll free 1-800-652-VOTE(8683) within the
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