ExxonMobil’s $59.5bn takeover of leading Permian basin producer Pioneer Natural Resources is likely to spark a new round of consolidation in the US shale patch as leading rivals look to keep up. The transaction-which is ExxonMobil’s biggest since the 1999 Mobil merger-could ignite a bidding war for other publicly listed independents in the prolific Permian basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, which the majors initially overlooked in favour of more distant targets. “It really opens the door to much larger-size deals and the kind of consolidation at the top end of the market that would definitely be game-changing for the industry,” consultancy Enverus Intelligence Research director Andrew Dittmar said before the deal announcement.
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