EU puts Halliburton-Baker Hughes merger review on ice

The European Union has suspended a deadline for its review of Halliburton’s $35 billion acquisition of Baker Hughes due to incomplete information provided by the companies. 

According to the European Commission’s filing, the decision was taken last Thursday, February 18, 2016.

To remind, earlier this year, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of oilfield service supplier Baker Hughes by rival Halliburton, announced in November 2014, would impede effective competition in breach of the EU Merger Regulation.

In an e-mail to Reuters, Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said: “This is a standard procedure on merger investigations which is activated if the notifying parties do not provide an important piece of information that the Commission has requested from them.” 

Reuters added that the EU competition authority would set a new date for its decision after the companies provide the required information.

Offshore Energy Today Staff