(New York) The American oil group ExxonMobil will buy its compatriot Pioneer Natural Resources, a large producer of shale oil and gas in the United States, for around $60 billion, they announced in a joint press release on Wednesday.
The operation, which should be completed during the first half of 2024, will give ExxonMobil a new foothold in the Permian Basin, an immense oil-rich region that covers west Texas and southeast New Mexico.
This is the largest acquisition for ExxonMobil since its megamerger with compatriot Mobil in 1999.
ExxonMobil will pay entirely in stock and buy Texas-based Pioneer for $59.5 billion, based on ExxonMobil’s October 5 closing price. The overall transaction, including debt, is valued at approximately $64.5 billion, the companies said.
ExxonMobil earned a record net profit of $55.7 billion in 2022 thanks to the sharp rise in hydrocarbon prices linked to the recovery in demand and the drying up of Russian supply, and as such has abundant liquidity.
For its part, Pioneer Natural Resources, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and founded in 1997, employs more than 2,000 people, according to its website. In 2022, the company generated net profit of $7.8 billion on revenue of $24.29 billion.
