Halliburton has announced the takeover of fellow oil and gas giant Baker Hughes in a deal worth $34.6bn.
The agreement has been rubber stamped by both companies’ board of directors is expected to save the companies around $2bn annually.
Combined, the companies had 2013 revenues of $51.8bn, more than 136,000 employees and operations in more than 80 countries around the world.
In addition, the combined revenues of the two companies are more than that of Slumberger ($45.3bn) – the leading services provider in the oil and gas industry.
“The transaction will combine the companies’ product and service capabilities to deliver an unsurpassed depth and breadth of solutions to our customers, creating a Houston-based global oilfield services champion, manufacturing and exporting technologies, and creating jobs and serving customers around the globe,” said Dave Lesar, chairman and CEO of Halliburton
The merger still has to be passed by regulators in the United States, and is expected to be formally completed in the second quarter of 2015.
Halliburton has said it would sell-off up to $7.5bn of its business interests to ensure the deal is approved.
