HOUSTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could release its decision in the coming days on an antitrust review of Exxon Mobile (NYSE:) $60 billion acquisition of Pioneering natural resources (NYSE:).
Exxon said last week that it responded to the FTC's second request for information and received no indication of antitrust problems. The agency has 30 days to make a decision following the response, which is expected to have begun in early April.
Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods said Friday that the company had provided a huge “material of documents, contracts, production and sales documents.”
“We are very confident that there are no antitrust issues,” he told analysts on an earnings conference call.
The FTC's 30-day review period likely began in early April, said Bob Brackett, an analyst at investment firm Bernstein. “There are few obstacles left for an imminent closing of the second quarter.”
An Exxon spokesperson said Wednesday: “We continue to work constructively with the FTC as they conduct a very thorough review.”
The FTC stepped up its review of the oil and gas deals, sending a second request to both companies last year. The regulator has also requested additional information from Chevron (NYSE , Diamondback (NASDAQ Energy, Occidental Petroleum (NYSE and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE ) related to their respective acquisitions of rivals.
Antitrust experts said in October that despite the size of the proposed deal between Exxon and Pioneer, the FTC would have a hard time stopping it because it is a merger of producers rather than refiners or retail outlets.
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