Exxon Mobil Corporation and XTO Energy Inc. Announce Agreement

[Joanne98]

Source: WSJ

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) and XTO Energy Inc. announced today an all-stock transaction valued at $41 billion. The agreement, which is subject to XTO stockholder approval and regulatory clearance, will enhance ExxonMobil's position in the development of unconventional natural gas and oil resources.

Under the terms of the agreement, approved by the boards of directors of both companies, ExxonMobil has agreed to issue 0.7098 common shares for each common share of XTO. This represents a 25 percent premium to XTO stockholders. The transaction value includes $10 billion of existing XTO debt and is based on the closing share prices of ExxonMobil and XTO on December 11, 2009.

"We are pleased that ExxonMobil and XTO have reached this agreement," said Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

"XTO is a leading U.S. unconventional natural gas producer, with an outstanding resource base, strong technical expertise and highly skilled employees. XTO's strengths, together with ExxonMobil's advanced R&D and operational capabilities, global scale and financial capacity, should enable development of additional supplies of unconventional oil and gas resources, benefiting consumers both here in the United States and around the world."

Tillerson said the agreement is good news for the United States economy and energy security, as it will enhance opportunities for job creation and investment in the production of America's own clean-burning natural gas resources.

XTO's resource base is the equivalent of 45 trillion cubic feet of gas and includes shale gas, tight gas, coal bed methane and shale oil. These will complement ExxonMobil's holdings in the United States, Canada, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Argentina.

Following the transaction closing, ExxonMobil intends to establish a new upstream organization to manage global development and production of unconventional resources, enabling the rapid development and deployment of technologies and operating practices to increase production and maximize resource value. The new organization will be located in Fort Worth, Texas, in XTO's current offices.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20091214-902844.html

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Can you say TOO BIG TO FAIL?

This is an outrage. The WH needs to stop this merger with the anti-trust laws!

[defendandprotect]

1. I say MONOPOLY -- where are our anti-trust laws . . . ????

[groundloop]

2. If exxon and the other "energy" companies....

put as much effort into developing non-petroleum energy as they do in finding new ways to get petroleum out of the ground our problems would be solved. Petroleum is all they know.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Exxon to Pay $31 Billion for XTO Energy

Source: Business Week

(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the biggest U.S. oil company, agreed to buy XTO Energy Inc. for $31 billion in a bet that U.S. emissions restrictions will spur increased demand for natural gas.

Owners of Fort Worth, Texas-based XTO (XTO) will get 0.7098 share of Exxon for each of their shares, the companies said today in a statement. The transaction, the largest energy acquisition since 2006 and Irving, Texas-based Exxon's biggest takeover since the purchase of Mobil Corp. in 1999, values XTO at $51.69 a share, 25 percent higher than its last closing price.

"This says that corporate M&A is alive and well in the exploration and production sector," said Curtis Trimble, an analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder Inc. in Houston. "It also says that Exxon isn't shy about stepping up their exposure to the natural-gas market. Almost certainly, we will see some more follow-the-leader type transactions."

Exxon, which also will assume $10 billion in debt, will get the largest producer of U.S. natural gas. Demand for the fuel will grow as U.S. carbon legislation prompts power producers to switch from coal, Kenneth Cohen, Exxon's vice president for government affairs, said in a Dec. 7 interview.

XTO rose $7.69, or 19 percent, to $49.18 at 8:53 a.m. New York time in trading before U.S. exchanges opened. Exxon fell $1.53 to $71.30.



Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2009/db20091214_045824.htm

[Vidar]

4. There go natural gas prices as Obama's "fat cats" get still fatter.