Shale giants Devon and Coterra may merge

• There's also a chance that Coterra is hoping to solicit other bidders.

By the numbers: Devon shares traded down around 4% on the news, giving it a $23 billion market cap, while Coterra gained 1.5% to bring its market cap close to $20 billion.

The intrigue: Kimmeridge, an energy-focused PE firm that also has a public company engagement practice, has been pushing for changes at Coterra and also has a small position in Devon.

The bottom line: Oil prices are modest and lots of the good Permian Basin acreage is drilled, which means scale and efficiency are increasingly coveted.