(Reuters) -ConocoPhillips is in advanced talks to buy Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal that could value the Houston-based company at just over its $15 billion market value, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with had been informed of the matter.
Although a deal appeared imminent late Tuesday, there was still a risk that negotiations would fail or that a rival bidder would foil Conoco’s takeover plan, the report said.
Marathon Oil and ConocoPhillips did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The US oil and gas industry has seen $250 billion in purchases by 2023 and the wave of consolidation has continued this year, but has led to increasing scrutiny from competition authorities.
Earlier this month, U.S. regulators gave the green light to Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources, but removed Pioneer’s former CEO from Exxon’s board of directors over allegations he attempted to conspire with OPEC to raise oil prices.
Oil companies Chevron and Occidental agreed to buy Hess and CrownRock, respectively, in 2023.
This year, Diamondback Energy signed a deal to acquire private rival Endeavor Energy Partners in a $26 billion cash-and-stock deal.
Bloomberg News reported last October that Devon Energy had entered into preliminary discussions about a combination with Marathon Oil.
The Financial Times report said on Wednesday that Conoco has been competing with Devon to acquire Marathon for several weeks.
Marathon Oil’s first-quarter oil production fell 2.7% to 181,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a year earlier.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
