ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil fall after second FTC request over $22.5 bln deal

Marathon Oil

12/07/2024 16:20

** Shares of oil and gas firms ConocoPhillips  COP.N  and
Marathon Oil  MRO.N  down 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively
    **  COP says it received a second request from the U.S.
Federal Trade Commission for information on its proposed
acquisition of Marathon Oil for $22.5 billion
    ** Says both companies received the requests on July 11 and
are working with the FTC to review the merger
    ** Brokerage Scotiabank cuts PT on MRO to $29 from $45,
downgrades to "sector perform" from "sector outperform"
    ** "Given our view that COP's acquisition of MRO will close
by year-end, we see MRO facing risk-arb (arbitrage) pressures
and our revised downward price target is reflective of the
stated exchange ratio" - Scotiabank
    ** 13 of 22 brokerages rate MRO "buy" or higher and 9
"hold"; median PT is $33 - LSEG data
    ** Including session's move, COP down 2.4% and MRO up 17.5%
YTD

 (Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru)
 ((Tanay.Dhumal@thomsonreuters.com; 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TanayDhumal))