Halliburton, Baker Hughes to Call Off Merger
May 01 2016 - 6:13PM
Dow Jones News
Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. are planning to call off
their merger, once valued at nearly $35 billion, which encountered
opposition on multiple continents from regulators who claimed that
it would hurt competition in the oil-field services business.
The announcement of an end to the merger agreement could come as
soon as Sunday evening, according to a person familiar with the
matter.
The deal to combine the world's second- and third-largest
oil-field services firms after Schlumberger Ltd. appeared
increasingly troubled since April 6, when the Justice Department
filed a lawsuit to block it. The merger had also encountered
opposition from regulators in Europe.
The companies had anticipated regulatory challenges when they
originally struck their agreement in 2014, but repeatedly stressed
that they felt the obstacles could be overcome, even as analysts
and other experts questioned the risk.
The two sides previously set April 30 as the day when the
agreement expired, allowing either to walk away from the deal.
After Halliburton announced first-quarter operating results but
postponed a discussion of its earnings until May 3, analysts
speculated that the merger was in trouble.
Halliburton will have to pay a $3.5 billion break-up fee to
Baker Hughes -- a condition of the merger agreement put in place in
a nod to anticipated regulatory challenges.
Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 01, 2016 17:58 ET (21:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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