Chevron buys about 5% of Hess stock, says it is confident of merger

March 17 (Reuters) - Chevron ( CVX ) bought about 4.99% of Hess Corp's ( HES ) common shares this year, reflecting its confidence in completing the planned acquisition of Hess, the oil giant said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

The second-largest U.S. oil producer agreed in October 2023 to buy Hess in an all-stock deal valued at $53 billion to gain a crucial stake in Guyana's oil-rich Stabroek block.

U.S. regulators and shareholders have approved the deal, but Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and CNOOC, Hess' partners in Guyana, have challenged it in court. A three-judge arbitration panel is due to consider the case later in May.

Chevron ( CVX ) purchased 15,380,000 Hess shares between January and March, worth about $2.3 billion based on Hess' closing share price of $150.45 on Monday.

Chevron ( CVX ) will offer 1.025 of its shares for each Hess share. If the deal closed on Monday, Hess investors would receive $162.69 for each share, based on Chevron's ( CVX ) closing price of $158.72.

Chevron ( CVX ) is saving money by buying at a discount, said Roy Behren, co-president and co-chief investment officer at Westchester Capital Management, which is an investor in Hess.

"It's a smart and savvy move on their part."

Behren said he believes the acquisition will be completed. Even if it cannot, Chevron ( CVX ) has a $2.3 billion indirect interest in the Stabroek field with the 5% Hess stake, he noted.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Richard Chang)