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   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   London   
   CNN   
    —   
   Big Oil keeps doing big deals.   
      
   ConocoPhillips said Wednesday it had agreed to buy Marathon Oil in an all-   
   stock deal worth $22.5 billion, including about $5.4 billion of debt.   
      
   Marathon Oil shareholders will receive 0.255 ConocoPhillips shares for   
   each Marathon share they own, representing a 14.7% premium to the closing   
   price on Tuesday.   
      
   Shares of Marathon (MRO) were up more than 10% in premarket trade, while   
   Conoco (COP) stock was down about 2%.   
      
   The merger of the Houston-based rivals follows ExxonMobil’s (XOM) $60   
   billion purchase of Pioneer and Chevron’s (CVX) agreed takeover of Hess   
   for $53 billion. The wave of consolidation has also included Occidental   
   buying CrownRock and Diamondback Energy acquiring Endeavor Energy Partners   
   in multibillion-dollar cash-and-stock deals.   
      
   Oil giants are flush with cash and printing bumper profits following years   
   of elevated prices. They’re using those windfalls to snap up assets in the   
   Permian basin — the oil field that has helped make the US the world’s top   
   producer of oil and gas — and boost returns for shareholders even as   
   pressure builds for them to invest more in renewable energy.   
      
   “This acquisition of Marathon Oil further deepens our portfolio and fits   
   within our financial framework, adding high-quality, low cost of supply   
   inventory,” Ryan Lance, ConocoPhillips CEO, said in a statement.   
      
   The Financial Times reported earlier Wednesday that a deal was close and   
   that Conoco and Devon Energy had been vying for weeks to acquire Marathon.   
      
   Until 1962, Marathon Oil was called The Ohio Oil Company, which was   
   founded in 1887 and was bought two years later by John D. Rockefeller’s   
   Standard Oil.   
      
   CEO Lee Tillman described Wednesday’s deal as “a proud moment” and   
   ConocoPhillips as “the right home” to build on a legacy of operational   
   excellence and strong earnings.   
      
   “When combined with the global ConocoPhillips portfolio, I’m confident our   
   assets and people will deliver significant shareholder value over the long   
   term,” Tillman said in a statement.   
      
   ConocoPhillips said it was targeting savings worth $500 million within the   
   first full year of the transaction closing, which is expected in the   
   fourth quarter of 2024 pending the approval of Marathon shareholders and   
   regulators.   
      
   The company plans to repurchase over $7 billion in shares in the first   
   full year, and over $20 billion in the first three years, it added.   
      
   This story has been updated with additional information.   
      
   https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/investing/conocophillips-marathon-   
   takeover/index.html   
      
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