According to the financial news app of Zhitongcaijing, Devon Energy (DVN.US) has acquired at least three oil and gas production companies in the past 12 months, but all have ended in failure, mainly due to rising drilling costs and production issues that have reduced the targets' interest.

Reportedly, Devon lost to ConocoPhillips (COP.US) in the acquisition of Marathon Oil (MRO.US), and lost to Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US) in the acquisition of CrownRock, and ChordEnergy (CHRD.US) in the acquisition of Enerplus (ERF.US), thus missing the industry's merger boom.

It is said that the acquisition targets were skeptical about the stock value of Devon Energy, and in the past 12 months, the stock has lagged behind the S&P 500 Energy Index by 16 percentage points.

Andrew Dittmar, chief analyst of energy consulting firm Enverus, said that the weakness of Devon Energy's stock has put the company at a disadvantage in competition with rivals for acquisitions.

The failure of the deals is also related to Devon Energy's price discipline as the acquirer, and the intensification of competition for assets in the industry. Enverus pointed out that compared with the average premium of US-listed oil and gas companies since early 2023, the sale prices of Marathon Oil and Enerplus are 3 percentage points higher than the average premium of unaffected stock prices.

Analysts say Devon Energy may still make another move for potential acquisitions, with reasonable targets currently including Permian Resources (PR.US), Matador Resources (MTDR.US) and privately-held Mewbourne Oil, all of which will help to consolidate its position in the Delaware Basin. If the company wants to strengthen its presence in the Williston Basin, it can also acquire privately-held Grayson Mill Energy.