Brussels, 27/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 2 May, the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, announced that she had taken note of the decision of Halliburton and Baker Hughes to abandon their planned merger.
In January this year, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation into the acquisition of Baker Hughes by its competitor, which would have sealed the union between the second- and third-largest providers of oilfield services in the world (see EUROPE 11467). The Commission's preliminary investigation flagged up serious potential competition issues regarding more than 30 lines of products and services, both onshore and offshore.
On 2 May, the Commissioner stressed that oil and gas exploration and production were key sectors to ensure competitive energy prices for customers and companies across the EU. Stressing that each case must be assessed on its own merits, she pointed out that the Commission had been contacted by many customers regarding the merger, which has today been called off. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)