Hess CEO will not join Chevron’s board following $53 billion merger in deal with FTC
(Bloomberg) – Chevron Corp. agreed that Hess Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Hess won’t join the company’s board as part of an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, allowing the companies’ merger to proceed, people familiar with the matter said.
The condition allows Chevron to move forward with its $53 billion acquisition of Hess, said the people who asked not to be named discussing non-public information. Chevron had previously said Hess would join its board once the deal was complete and become one of the company’s biggest shareholders.
To finalize the deal, however, Chevron and Hess still need to prevail in arbitration against Exxon Mobil Corp. and Cnooc Ltd., who claim a right-of-first-refusal on Hess’ biggest asset — a 30% stake in a massive oil field offshore Guyana. The case, currently being administered by the International Chamber of Commerce, is likely to be settled in the third quarter of 2025.
Completing the FTC process would remove a major hurdle to Chevron’s biggest transaction in more than a decade and provide a lift for both CEOs who agreed to the deal almost a year ago.
Guyana’s Stabroek block is one of the largest and most profitable new discoveries outside of OPEC and would provide Chevron with strong cash-flow growth through the rest of the decade and beyond.
More than 50 lawmakers earlier this year urged the FTC to increase scrutiny of deals on concerns a $200 billion consolidation wave would increase energy prices for consumers, squeeze suppliers and suppress wages.
The agency has since made second requests for information for several major deals, delaying transactions beyond usual time frames. Still, no transactions have fallen apart due to competition concerns.
