The European Union (EU) is delaying Halliburton’s US$34.6 billion pending takeover of Baker Hughes once again, after not receiving key data about the deal, the European Commission (EC) said in a statement.
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Image from Halliburton. |
“To comply with merger deadlines, parties must supply the necessary information for the investigation in a timely fashion,” Ricardo Cardoso, an EU spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg. “Failure to do so will lead the commission to stop the clock.”
Halliburton and Baker Hughes agreed to the stock and cash deal in November 2014, but since then, have run into road blocks in the US with the Department of Justice, and Europe. Most recently, the EU suspended the deadline for its review nearly one month ago.
“The European Commission has requested additional information as part of its ongoing review of the pending Baker Hughes acquisition,” Emily Mir, Halliburton director of public relations told OE. “As part of the Commission’s standard procedure, the formal review period is suspended pending receipt the requested information. Halliburton is working to provide the additional information as expeditiously as possible.”
The EU investigation identified more than 30 product lines, both offshore and onshore, with potential competition issues.
“Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the deadline for the Commission's decision is then adjusted accordingly," Cardoso said.
Previous to the EU suspension in February, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the merger, to assess whether the proposed acquisition of Baker Hughes by rival Halliburton would impede effective competition in breach of the EU Merger Regulation.
The EU’s concern of the takeover is that it would bring together the world's second and third largest oilfield service suppliers, thus eliminating one of the three current main global competitors: Halliburton, Baker Hughes and market leader Schlumberger.
In December, the timing agreement with the DOJ expired without reaching a settlement or the DOJ initiating litigation at this time to block their pending transaction.
To date, the merger has received regulatory clearances in Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Turkey.
Read more:
EU suspends Halliburton, Baker Hughes review
DOJ delays Halliburton, Baker Hughes merger
Halliburton raising billions for Baker Hughes merger
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