US and European Union (EU) competition authorities ended the merger between Halliburton and Baker Hughes, global providers of oilfield services, writes Reuters. Against the merger were also negative opinions coming from Brazil and Australia.

The US Department of Justice also filed a civil lawsuit to stop the merger. The two companies have offered to dispose of assets worth over 7.5 billion dollars to ensure a competitive environment, but the proposal was not accepted.

The merger between 2nd and 3rd place in the industry raised among the competition authorities in US and EU concerns about the price; they argued, including in court, that major oil companies would be put in a position to choose between only two great players, Schlumberger and the company that would result from the merger of Baker Hughes with Halliburton.

When the merger agreement was announced (November 2014), the value was estimated at 34.6 billion dollars, but the aftermath that brough a sharp decline in oil prices reduced the estimate with 6.6 billion dollars, that cash and shares worth 28 billion dollars now. However, Halliburton will have to pay Baker Hughes a fee waiver of 3.5 billion dollars.

Independently, both Halliburton and Baker Hughes reported losses greater than expected and restructurings involving the elimination of thousands of jobs in the flow chart. Their merger would have created a company with over 135,000 employees and with operations in 80 countries.