Exxon agrees to buy Pioneer for $60 bn

The deal marks Exxon’s largest takeover in more than two decades

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Exxon Mobil Corp. agreed to buy Pioneer Natural Resources Co. for $59.5 billion, the supermajor's largest takeover in more than two decades, as it seeks to become the dominant producer of shale oil.

Exxon will pay $253 per share in an all-stock deal, according to a statement on Wednesday. The agreement paves the way for Exxon's biggest acquisition since merging with Mobil Corp. in 1999 and is the world's largest corporate takeover announced this year.

The transaction amounts to an 18% premium for Pioneer investors, based on the closing price on 5 October, when reports of the impending deal began to swirl. If finalized, the combination will make Exxon far and away the biggest player in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico and bring the company's daily production to nearly 4.5 million barrels of oil equivalent a day-50% more than the next biggest supermajor.