Questions surround oilfield services M&A activity

Difficult trading conditions bring uncertainty to M&A activity in a tense oilfield services sector

Two major mergers, that bringing Halliburton together with Baker Hughes and Schlumberger with Cameron International, both made sense when they were launched. They involved big companies getting together to save costs and beef up their offerings at a time when demand was plummeting and prices slumping. But now one of these tie-ups looks a distinctly better move than the other. Whereas global market leader Schlumberger’s acquisition of Cameron seems all but done – the companies hope to complete it in the first quarter of this year – Halliburton and Baker Hughes, the world’s second and third largest oilfield services firms, are still struggling to persuade takeover authorities in key markets th