(Bloomberg) — ConocoPhillips agreed to acquire Marathon Oil Corp. in a $22.5 billion all-stock deal, extending a major buying spree in the US oil and gas industry.
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The move expands ConocoPhillips’ footprint in domestic shale fields from Texas to North Dakota and hands the company reserves as far afield as Equatorial Guinea. It adds to a wave of recent megadeals as producers seek new drilling sites on a bet that oil and gas demand will remain robust for years to come.
The takeover agreement represents a 14.7% premium to the last closing share price of Marathon, the companies said in a statement Wednesday.
ConocoPhillips joins the ranks of major drillers pursuing production growth via recent acquisitions. In October, Exxon Mobil Corp. accelerated the pace of Permian Basin consolidation with a $62 billion deal for Pioneer Natural Resources Co. That was followed later that month by Chevron Corp.’s agreement to buy Hess Corp. for about $53 billion.
ConocoPhillips had already expanded in the Permian in recent years through a $13 billion takeover of Concho Resources Inc. and a $9.5 billion purchase of Shell Plc’s assets in the region.
Devon Energy Corp. held talks with Marathon last year over a potential combination, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News at the time.
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