WaterBridge Taps Public Markets With $500M IPO

WaterBridge Infrastructure is preparing to make a splash on Wall Street. The Delaware Basin’s largest independent produced-water infrastructure operator has filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Texas under the ticker WBI. The company is offering 27 million Class A shares at a range of $17 to $20, with an additional 4.05 million shares available for underwriters through a standard greenshoe option. At the midpoint, the deal would raise roughly $461 million in net proceeds (or just over $530 million if the shoe is exercised) and value the company at about $3.9 billion in market capitalization.

The underwriter roster is as deep as WaterBridge’s pipelines, led by J.P. Morgan, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, with a wide syndicate of energy-focused co-managers. Adding credibility, Horizon Kinetics has signaled interest in up to $120 million of the offering, though such indications are non-binding. Proceeds will primarily be used to purchase units from existing sponsor Elda River, pay down over $129 million of debt, and fund growth projects across its water-handling network.

Founded in April 2025, WaterBridge is a roll-up of several entities including WBEF, NDB Midstream, and Desert Environmental. Through a corporate reorganization, it has formed OpCo, an Up-C structure that aligns public investors with legacy owners while preserving sponsor control. Post-IPO, affiliates of Five Point will continue to own the majority of voting power, making WaterBridge a controlled company under NYSE rules.

The business itself is both essential and quietly massive. WaterBridge designs, builds, and operates integrated infrastructure for gathering, transporting, handling, and recycling produced water from oil and gas producers. Its customer list includes blue-chip E&Ps such as BPX (BP), Chevron, Devon, EOG, and Permian Resources, many of whom have signed long-term, fixed-fee contracts with acreage dedications and minimum volume commitments. As of August 2025, WaterBridge’s system spanned more than 2,500 miles of pipeline, nearly 200 facilities, and capacity of over 4.5 million barrels per day, with dedications covering 2.3 million acres.

What sets WaterBridge apart is its technology. The company’s proprietary WAVE platform forecasts water flows in real time, enabling optimized routing and capacity deployment across its 24/7 operations center. Combined with automation and AI-enabled leak detection, WaterBridge boasts system uptime of nearly 99.7%. Its strategic partnership with LandBridge (NYSE: LB) also provides critical pore-space access and rights-of-way for the safe disposal of produced water.

Financial Performance: Three-Year Snapshot

The financials underscore both growth and volatility.

Revenue leapt from $201 million in 2023 to more than $662 million in 2024, largely due to acquisitions and contract expansions. But profits have been elusive: net income turned from a modest gain in 2023 into a loss of $112 million in 2024, and through the first half of 2025 WaterBridge remained in the red with a $38 million net loss, equating to a roughly 10% negative margin.

Looking ahead, the company’s strategy is clear: deepen its grip on the Delaware Basin with new pipelines and facilities, expand the Speedway Pipeline project to shift volumes into lower-pressure pore space, and keep investing in forecasting technology to boost efficiency. Long-term, WaterBridge’s portfolio of 11-year average contract terms with CPI-linked escalators and minimum volume commitments offers a measure of stability uncommon in the energy services sector.

The risks, however, are not trivial. WaterBridge’s revenues hinge on sustained drilling and completion activity, leaving it exposed to swings in oil and gas prices. Its operations are highly concentrated in the Delaware Basin, making it vulnerable to basin-specific regulations such as the Texas Railroad Commission’s new guidelines limiting pore-space development. And with Five Point retaining control, public investors will have limited say in governance.

Still, in a market eager for yield and infrastructure stories, WaterBridge’s IPO is positioned as a unique bet on the long-term necessity of water handling in U.S. shale. Investors will be watching closely to see whether the company can deliver steady, fee-based cash flows while reducing leverage and proving that produced-water infrastructure deserves a permanent place in the public markets.

WaterBridge is expected to price its IPO the week of September 15, 2025.