US FTC set to rule on $60 bln Exxon-Pioneer deal, Bloomberg reports (updated)
01/05/2024 17:56
(Adds details, background and responses from FTC from paragraph
2 onwards)
May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is
set to decide whether to sue to block Exxon Mobil's XOM.N $60
billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources PXD.N in the
coming days, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people
familiar with the matter.
Exxon complied with FTC's second request for information at
the beginning of April, triggering a 30-day period within which
the antitrust agency must make a decision, the report added.
The timeline could be extended if regulators and Exxon agree
to continue working on ironing out competition issues, the
report said.
Exxon had said last week that the deal is expected to
close in the second-quarter.
The FTC had sent a second request to both the companies last
year. It had also sought additional information from Chevron
CVX.N and Hess HES.N as well as Endeavor and Diamondback
Energy FANG.O related to their respective mergers.
Exxon and Pioneer did not immediately respond to Reuters
requests for comment, while the FTC declined to comment.
Antitrust experts said in October that despite the size
of the proposed Exxon-Pioneer deal, the FTC would struggle to
stop it because it is a merger of producers rather than refiners
or retail outlets.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber)
((Sourasis.Bose@thomsonreuters.com;))