Triple Crown Resources LLC has acquired Broad Oak Energy II’s assets in Irion County, Texas, in an atypical transaction between two private-equity backed firms, Hart Energy has learned.

The purchase price was more than $400 million, according to a source familiar with the transaction.

On April 4, a person answering the phone at Broad Oak’s Irving, Texas, office identified the company as “Triple Crown Resources” and added, “we’ve been acquired.”

Broad Oak’s now-defunct website said the company owned about 25,000 contiguous net acres in Irion. State records show the company operated about 66 wells in 2017 averaged about 10,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), about 56% oil.

A former Broad Oak executive did not return a phone message. Broad Oak is backed by EnCap Investments LP, which declined to comment. The co-founders of Triple Crown, backed by Yorktown Energy Partners, also declined to comment for this article.

Similar deals that have played out in the Permian Basin since 2016 have involved private equity companies selling to larger public corporations. Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE: CXO) also bucked the trend in late March when it reached an agreement to buy RSP Permian Inc. (NYSE: RSPP) for $9.5 billion.

Triple Crown was formed in May 2017, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The company’s founders include attorney Nathan P. Pekar and Ryan S. Keys, a former vice president at Jefferies LLC. In February, Triple Crown filed its initial report to operate oil and gas wells with the Texas Railroad Commission.

David B. Braddock formed Broad Oak Energy II following the success of its first iteration, Broad Oak Energy. That company was credited with drilling the first horizontal Wolfcamp well. The company also explored the Wolfberry Play on the eastern side of the Midland Basin.

In 2011, Broad Oak, initially backed with a $150 million commitment from Warburg Pincus, sold its assets to Laredo Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: LPI) for $1.01 billion.

Braddock formed Broad Oak Energy II in 2012 with an equity commitment of about $300 million from EnCap and its management team.

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