Exxon Mobil in talks to buy US shale driller Pioneer: WSJ

The news: Oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil is in talks to buy US shale gas explorer Pioneer Natural Resources in what could be the biggest takeover deal of the year, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The numbers: Exxon Mobil’s blockbuster takeover of Pioneer could be worth roughly USD60 billion ($94 billion) and could be sealed within days, WSJ reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The context: The acquisition would give Exxon, which posted record profits last year, a dominant position in the oil-rich Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, a region it has said is integral to its growth plans. The deal would be Exxon’s largest since its megamerger with Mobil in 1999, with the combined entity now valued at USD436 billion.