IEO ETF To Gain From Exxon (XOM) Deal And Aftermath

Natural gas stocks and ETFs got a major boost with the $30 billion acquisition of XTO (NYSE: XTO) by Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Bloomberg reports that more major acquisitions can be expected as players seek to tap shale formation outputs. Likely buyers who are currently struggling to boost output include Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) and Total SA (NYSE: TOT).

Anadarko (NYSE: APC), Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) and EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) have emerged as acquisition potential targets. With XTO, these are the parts of the top ten holdings of the iShares Dow Jones US Oil & Gas Exploration Index (NYSE: IEO). iShares Dow Jones US Oil & Gas Exploration Index is also the ETF with the highest exposure to XTO.