We were (kind of?) close to one of the largest ever M&A last year: The CEOs of oil giants Chevron and Exxon discussed a possible merger in 2020 as the pandemic roiled the energy markets and heaped financial pressure on their balance sheets, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources close to the matter. The company would have had a combined market value of more than USD 350 bn, becoming the world’s second-largest oil and gas company after Saudi Aramco. The transaction never materialized and may have missed the optimal window under the Trump administration, which “was seen as more friendly to the industry,” although the talks could be revived down the line, the sources say.

IPO WATCH- The world’s largest IPO in more than a year is set to take place this week when Chinese video app and TikTok rival Kuaishou Technology goes public in Hong Kong, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company is expected to raise USD 5.4 bn from the float, making it the world’s largest since the Aramco IPO in late 2019 and valuing it at USD 61 bn.

OPEC+’s oil production boost fell short of expectations last month due to disruptions in production in Nigeria and Libya due to pipeline leaks, Bloomberg reports. The alliance of 23 countries had planned to increase production by 300k bbl/d following cuts earlier to protect oil prices during a slump in demand due to covid-19, but only managed to hit 190k in additional output in January.

The EGX30 rose 0.4% yesterday on turnover of EGP 1.9 bn (26.7% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is up 6.9% YTD.

In the green: Palm Hills (+5.1%), Alexandria Mineral Oils Co (+2.8%) and Emaar Misr (+2.7%).

In the red: Pioneers Holding (-1.2%), CIB (-1.2%) and Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (-0.9%).

Asian markets are soaring this morning and futures point to a strong open for stocks in Europe and North America later today.