North American midstream M&A activity has slowed into 2026 relative to 2025. For many midstream companies, organic growth projects and returning capital to shareholders are seen as more attractive. Recent dealmaking has been focused on bolt-on opportunities that offer operational efficiencies. Foreign investors continue to find midstream assets attractive, with a notable pipeline purchase announced earlier this year.Key Takeaways
Foreign investors continue to find attractive opportunities in midstream energy infrastructure, with deals often biased towards LNG projects but a notable pipeline purchase this year.
North American midstream companies have focused on selectively pursuing bolt-on acquisitions that capture immediate operational efficiencies at lower entry multiples.
M&A activity has slowed somewhat from 2025, but a handful of companies have discussed plans to remain acquisitive as attractive opportunities arise.
Global Capital Validates Value of U.S. Midstream AssetsEarlier this year, the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm 2PointZero announced an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Traverse Midstream Partners from The Energy & Minerals Group for $2.25 billion. The UAE has committed to investing well over $1 trillion in the U.S. Traverse holds a 35% interest in the 3.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) Rover Pipeline in Ohio and a 25% interest in the Ohio River System (ORS), both of which are operated by Energy Transfer (ET). Rover provides natural gas takeaway capacity from the Marcellus and Utica, while ORS is a network of gathering pipelines in Ohio.
According to S&P Global, 80% of Traverse’s cash flow is expected to be generated by the Rover pipeline, while the remaining 20% is expected to come from the ORS. Rover is supported by firm take-or-pay contracts covering over 85% of its capacity with an average remaining contract life of 11 years.
The Traverse deal implies an 11.3x EV/EBITDA multiple, according to East Daley. Long-haul natural gas pipelines like Rover tend to command the highest multiples within midstream given the long-term contracts and customer quality that is typical of demand-driven pipelines (read more). Gathering assets like the ORS tend to garner among the lowest multiples, given greater sensitivity to production trends and typically lower contract quality.
To put the Traverse multiple in context, the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index (AMEI) has typically traded within a 10-12x forward EV/EBITDA range historically. As of May 29, AMEI’s underlying index was trading at 10.8x based on 2027 consensus estimates, above its three-year average ratio of 9.9×.Foreign companies have long invested in midstream assets. For example, Australia’s IFM Investors bought Buckeye Partners in 2019. A number of U.S. LNG projects include foreign ownership, such as Golden Pass LNG, which is majority owned by QatarEnergy. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority took a 10% stake in Sempra Infrastructure Partners in 2022. Saudi Aramco took an interest in MidOcean Energy in 2023, which is developing an LNG project. Australia’s Woodside Energy bought Driftwood LNG (formerly Tellurian) in 2024. More recently, Mubadala Energy took a 24.1% stake in Caturus, which has upstream assets and greenlit construction for the Commonwealth LNG facility last month.
With robust opportunities in the U.S. for natural gas infrastructure, foreign companies may be ideal partners to help with financing needs. Certainly, foreign investment has been critical for developing U.S. LNG projects. Perhaps, there will be more investment in traditional pipeline assets ahead.North American Bolt-On Acquisitions Target SynergiesMost midstream companies have been focused on smaller, bolt-on M&A. These deals allow operators to feed additional volumes into existing networks and capture immediate operational efficiencies at lower entry multiples.
Most recently, Western Midstream (WES) announced the acquisition of Brazos Delaware II for $1.6 billion at an ~8.0x multiple of 2027 estimated EBITDA. Brazos was one of the largest private gathering and processing systems in the Delaware basin of the Permian. WES expects the multiple to drop to ~7.5x post-synergies and expects the deal to close in 2Q26.
Kinder Morgan (KMI) acquired the Monument Pipeline for $505 million. In the medium-term, KMI sees the deal multiple at less than 8.0×. The system, supported by take-or-pay contracts with an average life of nine years, directly complements and creates immediate synergies with KMI’s existing Texas intrastate pipeline network.
This activity extends across the broader North American market. Other recent examples include Gibson Energy’s (GEI CN) acquisition of the Chauvin Infrastructure Assets in Canada, which includes a crude pipeline and related infrastructure, and Antero Midstream’s (AM) purchase of a gathering system in the Marcellus Shale. AM paired its Marcellus acquisition with the divestiture of its non-core Ohio Utica Shale assets, selling them at a multiple of over 11.0x EBITDA based on average EBITDA expected over the next three years.The 2026 Outlook Favors Organic Growth and Highly Selective DealsDeal activity in 2026 has so far been more muted compared to 2025. Last year included Brookfield’s $9 billion acquisition of Colonial Pipeline, Keyera’s (KEY CN) $3.3 billion purchase of Plains All American’s (PAA/PAGP), Canadian natural gas liquids (NGLs) business (closed in May 2026), and MPLX’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Northwind Midstream. The most notable company-level M&A was Sunoco’s (SUN) purchase of Parkland (former ticker PKI CN) in a $9+ billion deal, and WES acquiring Aris Water Solutions (former ticker ARIS) in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $1.5 billion. Deals this year have largely been smaller bolt-on transactions.
While many companies have robust organic growth backlogs related to gas infrastructure (read more), other companies may be more inclined to grow through acquisitions. Sunoco (SUN) has explicitly committed to at least $500 million in bolt-on M&A in 2026, a cadence management described as a repeatable, multi-year strategy to consolidate a fragmented global fuel distribution market. Other companies that have signaled openness to deals include Plains All American (PAA/PAGP), Antero Midstream (AM), and Kinder Morgan (KMI), largely in the form of bolt-on acquisitions. PAA fully purchased a 100% stake in the EPIC crude system in 2H25, after announcing the sale of its NGL business. Energy Transfer (ET) management has reaffirmed an interest in larger M&A transactions, including opportunities beyond North America.Ways to Gain ExposureMidstream MLPs and corporations are navigating today’s M&A landscape with a focus on capital discipline, while balancing organic opportunities. Whether executing targeted bolt-on acquisitions or prioritizing organic growth, the sector is positioned to generate predictable, fee-based cash flows and continue returning cash to shareholders through growing dividends and opportunistic buybacks.
The Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (AMZI) focuses on midstream MLPs, including ET, MPLX, WES, and PAA. The Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index (AMEI) includes U.S. and Canadian midstream corporations like KMI, AM, and GEI CN and is 25% weighted to MLPs. AMZI underlies the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP A-), and AMEI underlies the Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR ). As of June 5, AMZI was yielding 7.0% and AMEI was yielding 4.6%.
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AMZI is the underlying index for the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) and the ETRACS Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index ETN Series B (MLPB). AMEI is the underlying index for the Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR) and the Alerian Energy Infrastructure Portfolio (ALEFX).
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