(Reuters) – Chevron purchased about 4.99% of Hess Corp’s common shares this year, the oil giant said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

Chevron said the stock purchase reflects its continuing confidence in completing the pending acquisition of Hess.

In October 2023, Chevron agreed to acquire Hess in an all-stock deal valued at $53 billion, gaining a stake in Guyana’s oil-rich Stabroek block and expanding Chevron’s U.S. shale footprint.

Though the proposed takeover has cleared the FTC’s antitrust review, one last hurdle remains – Exxon Mobil’s challenge to the deal. A three-judge arbitration panel is due to consider the case later in May.

The company purchased 15,380,000 shares between January and March at a discount to the exchange ratio set forth in the Merger Agreement.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)