Occidental Petroleum is in talks to buy CrownRock in a deal that could value the company well above $10 billion including debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Sources told Reuters in September that the private equity-backed company, which is led by Texas billionaire businessman Timothy Dunn, had initiated discussions with investment banks about hiring advisers to run a sale process that will kick off by early 2024.
Occidental did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment on Wednesday, while CrownRock could not be immediately reached.
CrownRock owns approximately 86,000 net acres in the northern part of the Midland basin, which is part of the Permian in Texas.
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)