Pioneer Natural Resources : to Buy Parsley Energy for $4.5 Billion

By Rebecca Elliott

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. has agreed to buy Parsley Energy Inc. for $4.5 billion, the latest in a flurry of U.S. oil tie-ups as companies seek to weather low prices brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

The all-stock deal would solidify Pioneer's place as one of the largest producers in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, the top American oil field.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the companies were in talks to combine.

The deal comes a day after ConocoPhillips agreed to buy Concho Resources Inc. for $9.7 billion. Last month, Devon Energy Corp. agreed to a $2.6 billion merger with WPX Energy Inc., while Chevron Corp. in July agreed to buy Noble Energy Inc. for about $5 billion.

Pioneer Chief Executive Scott Sheffield is the father of Parsley's co-founder and chairman, Bryan Sheffield.

(More to Come)

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-20-20 1617ET