US: Baker Hughes shareholders approve GE merger

Baker Hughes shareholders overwhelmingly approved a merger with GE Oil & Gas on Friday morning. The company announced the deal is scheduled to close on Monday.

More than 99% of the votes cast at the special meeting approved the combination, Baker said, creating “Baker Hughes, a GE company,” which will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BHGE.

Martin Craighead, chairman and chief executive officer of Baker Hughes, called the vote “an important milestone” in the merger. He said the combination will join “best-in-class oilfield technology and services, manufacturing capabilities and digital offerings.”

“I am more confident than ever in the promise of the new company and the benefits it will bring,” he said.

Lorenzo Simonelli, president and chief executive officer of GE Oil & Gas, thanked the team for working “around the clock” to close the deal.

The vote was not a surprise. Analysts have long expected shareholders to approve the deal, which would turn the struggling Baker into the second-largest oilfield services company in the world.

“It’s a big deal,” Dave Anderson, an analyst for the multinational bank Barclays, said earlier this month. “Baker Hughes becomes a much bigger player.”

Full Content: Biz Journals

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