Exxon Mobil (XOM) will buy Permian Shale giant Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) for $59.5 billion, the companies announced Wednesday, following reports over the past week that a deal was close. XOM stock fell Wednesday. Pioneer Natural edged higher, already up solidly in recent days on takeover buzz.
Exxon will pay $253 a share for Pioneer Natural Resources in the all-stock transaction. Investors will get 2.2324 Exxon shares for each PXD share. The total enterprise value, including net debt, is $64.5 billion.
Exxon expects the deal to close in the first half of 2024.
The acquisition would give Exxon a major position in the Permian Shale basin in east New Mexico and west Texas. Exxon said its production volume in the Permian would more than double to 1.3 million barrels per day.
On Oct. 5, The Wall Street Journal reported that Exxon Mobil was close to a Pioneer Natural takeover deal for roughly $60 billion. Tuesday night, Bloomberg said a deal above $250 a share could come as soon as Wednesday. Back in April, the WSJ reported Exxon and Pioneer were in early talks.
PXD stock climbed 1.4% Wednesday to 240.82. Exxon fell 3.6% to 106.49, partly due to sliding oil and gasoline futures.
Crude oil futures fell 2.9% to $83.49 a barrel.
On Tuesday, Pioneer advanced 0.8% to 237.41, while XOM stock dipped 0.2% to 110.45. At Tuesday's close, Pioneer stock had a $55.35 billion market cap. Last Thursday, PXD stock had a $50.1 billion valuation.
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