HOUSTON — Two of the world’s biggest oil field service companies may be in talks to fuse their businesses together after decades of rivalry and more recent U.S. growth that has turned North American shale plays into a playground for equipment providers.
Shares in oil field services giants Halliburton and Baker Hughes, both based in Houston, soared near the end of Thursday trading after the Wall Street Journal reported they were in talks for a merger.
Both Baker Hughes and Halliburton declined to comment.
The Journal, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, said talks were progressing quickly and a deal could come soon. The sources didn’t discuss the price but said it would likely rise about Baker Hughes’ market share.
In a relatively flat day for the market overall, Halliburton shares rose 56 cents to $53.79 and Baker Hughes rose $7.77 to $58.75 at the close of trading, not long after the Journal reported the talks online.
Both rank among Houston’s biggest local employers. According to a Chronicle survey earlier this year, Houston’s Baker Hughes had 8,000 local employees and 59,000 employees in total. Halliburton, based in Houston and Dubai, had about 75,00 local employees and 75,000 worldwide.
Baker Hughes is worth more than $25.4 billion on the stock market, while Halliburton is valued at $45.6 billion.
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