Halliburton in talks to buy Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Incorporated has confirmed that the company has engaged in preliminary discussions with Halliburton regarding a potential business transaction.

These discussions may or may not lead to a transaction; Baker Hughes refused to comment further on market speculation or disclose any developments at this time.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Halliburton is in talks to buy rival oilfield services provider, Baker Hughes.

Oil prices have slid by a third since June, Reuters reports, eroding demand for drilling services and pummeling stock prices. Producers have pressured the services companies to slash prices, and a tie up between two of the top three players in the industry might allow them to better cope with the downturn.

A potential merger would create a drilling, logistics and well services giant worth US$ 67 billion. Halliburton has reported having 80,000 employees and Baker Hughes 61,000.

The merged entity would be only half the size of industry leader Schlumberger, which has a market capitalisation of US$ 125 billion.

Edited from various sources by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/14112014/baker-hughes-and-halliburton-considering-merger-1807/