Halliburton, Baker Hughes merger hits antitrust wall

New York

OIL-SERVICES companies Halliburton and Baker Hughes pushed back the time frame on Tuesday for completing their proposed merger after US antitrust officials rejected their latest divestment remedies.

The two companies, seeking to combine to take on market leader Schlumberger, set April 30, 2016, as the deadline for completing the deal. In September, the companies had pushed back the time frame by three weeks to Dec 15. Tuesday's deadline was expected to pass with the Department of Justice (DOJ) neither accepting offers by the companies to divest assets to win approval, nor choosing to sue to block the transaction, Halliburton and Baker Hughes said.