UPDATE 1-SandRidge Energy to sell Permian Basin assets for $2.6 bln

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Dec 19 (Reuters) - SandRidge Energy Inc said it will sell its Permian Basin properties in west Texas to privately held oil and gas company Sheridan Production Partners for $2.6 billion.

Last month, SandRidge had said it was exploring the sale of these assets, an announcement that proved to be unpopular with some shareholders who felt the company should keep its valuable oil producing acreage.

But investors seemed to have since warmed to the deal, sending the company's shares up more than 7 percent to $7.00 in after market trading.

"This (cash from the sale) will also allow us to fund development of our acreage position as well as future opportunities in the highly scalable, high return Mississippian Play," the Oklahoma City-based company said in a statement.

(Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston and Thyagaraju Adinarayan in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Jim Marshall)