Halliburton, Baker Hughes in Talks to Sell Assets to Carlyle Group
April 14 2016 - 2:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Dana Mattioli and Ryan Dezember
Private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP is in serious talks to buy
a package of oilfield-services businesses from Halliburton Co. and
Baker Hughes Inc. that could be valued at more than $7 billion, as
the energy giants seek to overcome a Justice Department challenge
to their planned merger.
Talks between Carlyle and the companies are far along, though
not yet exclusive, people familiar with the matter said. The talks
mark a shift for Halliburton and Baker Hughes, which for months
have been focused on reaching a deal to sell the assets to General
Electric Co.
GE and the energy companies have had problems agreeing on a
price for the assets, some of the people said. GE is still in the
mix, they added.
The need for Baker Hughes and Halliburton to strike a
divestiture deal took on increased urgency last week when the
Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging their $35
billion proposed deal, arguing it would threaten higher prices and
reduce innovation in the oilfield-services industry. The two sides
agreed to the deal in November 2014.
As always, the talks with Carlyle could fall apart before an
agreement is reached, and even if there is one, there is no
guarantee the government won't stand in the way.
Indeed, Justice Department antitrust chief Bill Baer last week
said, "There's no fix to this transaction." He also said the gap
between the two sides was "a chasm" and that settlement talks were
never really under way because the government and the companies
fundamentally disagreed on the competitive impacts of the
merger.
--Alison Sider, Ted Mann and Brent Kendall contributed to this
article.
Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com and Ryan
Dezember at ryan.dezember@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2016 14:43 ET (18:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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