EU: EC signs off Baker $3.4 billion merger with GE

General Electric on Wednesday secured unconditional approval from the European Union to combine its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes after the bloc’s competition authorities found the transaction wouldn’t harm competition in Europe.

Announced last October, the GE and Baker Hughes combination would create a company with more than $32 billion in revenue that could cut costs to better compete with rivals such as Schlumberger in the provision of equipment and services to oil rigs and wells.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said it investigated several markets where products from both companies compete, including onshore and offshore electrical submersible pumps as well as chemicals used for refining petroleum. The regulator said it also looked at markets where GE supplies Baker Hughes and its competitors, including sensors used in drilling.

The EU said there were enough alternative competitors and suppliers in those markets where both companies overlap.

Full Content: Reuters

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