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ExxonMobil (New York Stock Exchange:XOM) has had preliminary informal discussions with Pioneer Natural Resources (New York Stock Exchange:PXD) about a possible acquisition, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Exxon (XOM) has also discussed a possible association with at least another company as it pursues a blockbuster deal on the shale patch, according to the report.
Shares of Permian Basin powerhouse driller Pioneer (PXD) have fallen nearly 9% so far this year, giving it a market capitalization of $49 billion.
“The party is over” for Exxon Mobil (XOM), whose shares have “very little chance of significant capital appreciation at present,” writes David Alton Clark in an analysis published recently in Seeking Alpha.