Devon Energy (
DVN) is considering
major acquisition targets as it seeks to gain scale in U.S. shale, and has held preliminary talks in recent months about a combination with Marathon Oil (
MRO). Devon has also been eyeing CrownRock, a Permian Basin producer led by Texas billionaire Timothy Dunn that has been exploring a potential $10B sale. If either deal goes through, it would be Devon's largest since its $2.6B takeover of WPX Energy. The update comes just a week after Exxon Mobil (
XOM) said it will buy Pioneer Natural Resources (
PXD)
for $59.5B, a deal that
analysts applauded. In any case, SA analyst
UFD Capital believes Devon could be an attractive
acquisition target. (
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