Exxon Mobil Corporation and Pioneer Natural Resources jointly announced a definitive agreement for ExxonMobil to acquire Pioneer. The merger is an all-stock transaction valued at $59.5 billion, or $253 per share, based on ExxonMobil’s closing price on October 5, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Pioneer shareholders will receive 2.3234 shares of ExxonMobil for each Pioneer share at closing. The implied total enterprise value of the transaction, including net debt, is approximately $64.5 billion.

The merger combines Pioneer’s more than 850,000 net acres in the Midland Basin with ExxonMobil’s 570,000 net acres in the Delaware and Midland Basins, creating the industry’s leading high-quality undeveloped U.S. unconventional inventory position. Together, the companies will have an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent resource in the Permian. At close, ExxonMobil’s Permian production volume would more than double to 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MOEBD), based on 2023 volumes, and is expected to increase to approximately 2 MOEBD in 2027. ExxonMobil believes the transaction represents an opportunity for even greater U.S. energy security by bringing the best technologies, operational excellence and financial capability to an important source of domestic supply, benefitting the American economy and its consumers.

“Pioneer is a clear leader in the Permian with a unique asset base and people with deep industry knowledge. The combined capabilities of our two companies will provide long-term value creation well in excess of what either company is capable of doing on a standalone basis,” said ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods. “Their tier-one acreage is highly contiguous, allowing for greater opportunities to deploy our technologies, delivering operating and capital efficiency as well as significantly increasing production. As importantly, as we look to combine our companies, we bring together environmental best-practices that will lower our environmental footprint and plan to accelerate Pioneer’s net-zero plan from 2050 to 2035."

Pioneer Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield commented, “The combination of ExxonMobil and Pioneer creates a diversified energy company with the largest footprint of high-return wells in the Permian Basin. As part of a global enterprise, Pioneer, our shareholders and our employees will be better positioned for long-term success through a size and scale that spans the globe and offers diversity through product and exposure to the full energy value chain. The consolidated company will maintain its leadership position, driving further efficiencies through the combination of our adjacent, contiguous acreage in the Midland Basin and our highly talented employee base, with the improved ability to deliver durable returns, creating tangible value for shareholders for decades to come.”

The per-share merger consideration noted above represents an approximate 18% premium to Pioneer’s undisturbed closing price on October 5 and a 9% premium to its prior 30-day volume-weighted average price on the same day.

The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory reviews and approvals. It is also subject to approval by Pioneer shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

Citi acted as lead financial advisor, Centerview Partners as financial advisor, and Davis Polk & Wardwell as legal advisor to ExxonMobil. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Petrie Partners and Bank of America Securities acted as financial advisors to Pioneer; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal advisor to Pioneer.