It’s a done deal….the merger of Baker Hughes Inc. in Houston with General electric Co.’s GE Oil and Gas.
The merger was finalized this week, a move that created the world’s second-largest company in the industry. It’s called a merger, but technically GE acquired Baker Hughes and the new company has an estimated value of $32 billion along with 70,000 employees.
GE promised the new firm will deliver advanced technology.
“As we go forward, the new fullstream offering accelerates our ability to extend a digital framework to customers while delivering world-class technical innovation and service execution,” GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in a press release.
The president and CEO of the new and expanded Baker Hughes is Lorenzo Simonelli who promised to deliver technological acumen to the industry.
“The crystal ball for all of us is cloudy but we know energy requirements are still going to increase, globally. The fundamentals are there for energy. ”
In taking over of the new company, Simonell will relocate to Houston from London.
“But we know energy requirements are still going to increase, globally. The fundamentals are there for energy.”
The merger came about after GE attempted to make a similar move last year with Halliburton Co. But antitrust concerns prompted the two to back off any such thoughts.
As a result of the merger, the new company moved past Halliburton and is behind only Schlumberger in the global oilfield service market.
