$68.5 million Atarque Ranch in western New Mexico sold to mystery buyer

One of New Mexico’s largest ranches has changed hands after 47 years of local ownership.

Atarque Ranch, a sprawling 110,000-acre property that listed for $68.5 million earlier this year, sold to an unknown buyer for an undisclosed price in a deal that closed Thursday, a spokesperson told the Journal on Friday.

The ranch, located in western New Mexico near Fence Lake, covers more ground than the city of Denver and is home to diverse lands, wildlife and remnants of Native American history. Over the years, the ranch has been leased for livestock operations and hunting.

Colorado-based land brokerage M4 Ranch Group represented the buyer, while Hall and Hall, a national brokerage that also specializes in ranch sales, represented the seller, the Yates family.

“It’s a privilege and an honor for me to do what I do,” said Jeff Buerger, the ranch’s listing agent and partner with Hall and Hall. “I’m in a business of building and maintaining long-term relationships, that’s really what I do, so it’s a privilege for me to be selected by a family the caliber of the Yates to represent their interests.”

The Yates are an Artesia-based family with a long history as oil and gas magnates. The family acquired the ranch in 1978 and listed it for sale in March.

Trey Yates III, vice president of family oil production company Abo Empire, previously said the move to sale was a business decision rooted in the desire to reallocate capital and focus on other land holdings across the United States.

The family’s oil and gas legacy dates back more than 100 years, when Martin Yates Jr. drilled the first commercial oil well on New Mexico state lands in 1924.

The family owned Yates Petroleum Corp. was born and grew to producing almost 30,000 barrels of crude oil per day across multiple states before it was acquired by Houston-based EOG Resources Inc. for $2.5 billion in 2016.

Yates couldn’t be reached for comment but the family acknowledged the sale in a statement provided to the Journal by a spokesperson.

“The new steward shares the family’s commitment to preserving the ranch’s natural beauty and significant Native American heritage,” the statement said. Buerger declined to share the sale price or who the new owner is, citing a nondisclosure agreement, but he said the buyer is a group with experience owning ranches.

The group plans to maintain the ranch’s wildlife management and livestock operations, Buerger said. The new owner will continue leasing the ranch for hunting in the short term but Buerger is unaware of their long-term plans.

The sale of Atarque ranch comes a few months after another massive New Mexico ranch called the Great Western Ranch sold. The 504,000-acre ranch, also in western New Mexico, most recently listed for $115 million before being sold to an unknown buyer in July.

Buerger said the two major ranch sales “speak to the strength of the large acreage ranch market right now.”

“We’re thriving in this sector,” Buerger said.

But the ranch-selling business isn’t just about a monetary transaction, Buerger said. The Hall and Hall partner said he often equates being a ranch broker with roles similar to a counselor or therapist due to the emotional connection ranch owners often have with their land.

“You learn a lot about somebody’s family or the things they’re going through, and when you’re exposed to confidential information, maintaining that at all times is fundamentally critical,” Buerger said. “I feel like I’ve become a counselor from an advisory perspective because selling a ranch — not only does it have to do with money but emotional ties.”