IDS drop seems to related to the scare that their biggest customer Exxon will go with someone else.
By Jeffry Bartash, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 5:11 PM ET May 27, 1999
Futures Movers Current commodities prices DALLAS (CBS.MW) -- Exxon's mammoth $88 billion purchase of Mobil was approved Thursday by each company's shareholders, though the deal still has to win U.S. and European regulatory approval.
Merger talks between smaller rivals Chevron and Texaco, meanwhile, were reportedly stalled amid disagreement over who would lead the company as well as other hurdles,according to press reports. If Exxon's takeover of Mobil is approved -- the companies are banking on completing the deal by September -- it would create the world's largest publicly traded energy producer, with a market capitalization of about $270 billion. Exxon, the biggest energy producer in the United States, and Mobil, the No. 2 producer, are teaming up in an effort to reduce costs, broaden their global reach and combat rivals. The combination of intensifying competition, along with a huge drop in in oil prices last year, has driven a wave of industry consolidation."We're operating in a volatile world economy and in a global industry that is becoming increasingly competitive," Mobil CEO Lou Noto said. |
