Davis Polk Advises ExxonMobil on $60 Billion Purchase of Rival Pioneer

Davis Polk & Wardwell advised ExxonMobil on its all-stock $59.5 billion acquisition of shale rival Pioneer Natural Resources.

The deal, which is one of the largest in a slow market so far this year, will increase ExxonMobil’s reliance on fossil fuel production. It comes after Chevron, Exxon’s biggest domestic competitor, bought Denver-based PDC Energy earlier this year.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher acted as legal adviser to Pioneer. Fried Frank advised Goldman Sachs as financial adviser to Pioneer.

The Davis Polk team was led New York deals lawyer Louis Goldberg, who co-chairs the firm’s mergers and acquisitions group. Fried Frank partners Philip Richter and Roy Tannenbaum steered the firm’s work on the transaction.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024, according to a statement from the companies. The companies’ directors have approved the transaction, which is still subject to approval by Pioneer shareholders. The deal will also be subject to regulatory approvals.

Deals activity fell by more than 14% to $777 billion through third quarter, compared to the same time last year. North American energy deal volume stayed mostly flat, with $75 billion in in transactions completed through the first three quarters of the year.