Pioneer Beats Pension Fund’s Bid for CEO Texts About Exxon Deal

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. prevailed in court Wednesday against a pension fund seeking text messages that may or may not support claims its former chief executive cut secret side deals before its $60 billion merger with ExxonMobil Corp.

Delaware’s top legal tribunal ruled for the energy exploration company in a brief ruling that cited prior decisions by Delaware’s Chancery Court. The earlier rulings said the pension fund hadn’t shown that texts between then-CEO Scott Sheffield and his counterpart, Exxon CEO Darren Woods, contained relevant evidence after Pioneer disclosed hundreds of pages of corporate files.

The lawsuit, filed in 2024, cited ...