Antitrust regulators in the US are seeking more information from Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. about a proposed US $35 billion merger between the two oilfield service companies.

Both companies said they expected this was coming and would cooperate with the Department of Justice when it begins its investigation.

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"The second requests are a standard part of the regulatory review process by the DOJ and were expected by Halliburton and Baker Hughes,"

It was back in November when Hallibutron announced its plans to acquire competitor Baker Hughes, expecting to close the transaction by the second half of the year.

This deal would bring about one of the largest oilfield service firms, second only to Schlumberger Ltd.

Even then, Baker Hughes, the smaller company, noted that they may have a problem with antitrust authorities.

Both companies provide oil field services and are market leaders for particular products they offer, however, some business units of the two firms overlap globally, in the US and parts of Asia and Europe.

In the meantime, to appease regulators, Halliburton agreed to part with businesses that ring up up to US $7.5 billion in revenue.

It will also give Baker Hughes US $3.5 billion if the tie-up does not get cleared in the anti-trust review.

The request for additional information about the union-to-be prolongs the timetable, requiring 30 days more for compliance of the firms.

Early this week, Halliburton announced that it would reduce its workforce globally by up to 8%, or as much as 6,500 personnel (of 80,000 employees) due to falling oil prices and weaker oil and gas exploration and production opportunities.

The company claims that this development is not part of the Baker Hughes marriage but is in line with competitor movements.

Emily Mir, spokesperson for Halliburton says of the job cut, "We value every employee we have, but unfortunately we are faced with the difficult reality that reductions are necessary to work through this challenging market environment."

"The impact will be across all areas of Halliburton's operations."

TagsHalliburton Co., Baker Hughes Inc.