Halliburton, Baker Hughes Extend DoJ Review Date for Deal

 

Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Inc have agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice to extend the date of the department's review of Halliburton's acquisition of Baker Hughes, a deal that would create an oilfield services behemoth.

Halliburton has also proposed to "divest additional businesses of the companies" to get regulatory nod for the deal globally, the companies said on Friday.

Several big deals, including Comcast Corp's $45 billion offer for Time Warner Cable Inc, have been scuttled in recent months amid indications that they would be blocked by antitrust regulators.

Halliburton's $35-billion offer for Baker Hughes is being scrutinized by regulators in several countries as the companies have overlapping businesses in the United States, Asia and Europe.

Halliburton said in November that it was ready to divest businesses that generate revenue of $7.5 billion. The company said in April that it would sell three of its drilling businesses.

The cash-and-stock deal, announced in November, will create an oilfield services provider with higher revenue than market leader Schlumberger NV.

The review date has been extended to the later of Nov. 25 or 90 days after Halliburton and Baker Hughes achieve "substantial compliance" with the department's second request, they said.

The transaction, which was expected to close in the second half, is now expected to close by Dec. 1.

Halliburton shares closed at $41.33 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, while Baker Hughes shares ended at $59.71.

Up to Friday's close, Halliburton shares had fallen about 25 percent since Nov. 14, the last trading day before the deal was announced.

(Reporting by Sneha Banerjee and Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)