Technip, FMC Technologies Said to Be in Advanced Merger Talks
(Bloomberg) -- Technip SA, Europe’s largest oilfield- services provider, is in talks to merge with U.S. peer FMC Technologies Inc., people familiar with the matter said.
Negotiations between the two companies, who formed a joint venture earlier this year, are at an advanced stage and a transaction may be announced before the end of 2015, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. No final deal has been reached and talks may still fall apart, they said.
Combining FMC and Technip would bring together the largest provider of subsea equipment to the industry with Europe’s biggest oil-services provider, at a time when the slump in oil prices has led customers to cut new projects and put pressure on suppliers. FMC has a market value of about $6.9 billion, after its shares fell more than 35 percent this year. Technip, which is down 8.2 percent year-to-date, is valued at about $5.8 billion.
The deal may be structured as an inversion, one of the people said, which may allow Houston-based FMC to move its headquarters to a country with lower taxes. While Technip is based in Paris, the combined company would not have to choose France as its tax domicile.
A spokesman for Technip couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. A representative for FMC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The companies in March announced a joint venture for offshore fields, called Forsys Subsea, as they seek to cut costs.
“The industry has a serious problem,” FMC Chief Executive Officer John Gremp said at the time.
--With assistance from Ruth David, David Wethe and Tara Patel.
To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Monks in New York at mmonks1@bloomberg.net; Dinesh Nair in London at dnair5@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Aaron Kirchfeld at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net; Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net Elizabeth Wollman.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- Libya's Surprise Oil Minister Change Throws Spotlight on Output
- Oil Seals Quarterly Gain in Tightening Market
- Oman Sees Increasing Ship-to-Ship Transfers of Russian Oil Bound for India
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Oil Demand Outpaces Expectations, Testing Calculus on Peak Crude
- House Passes Protecting American Energy Production Act
- TotalEnergies Restarts Production in Denmark's Biggest Gas Field
- USA Oil and Gas Job Figures Jump
- Republican Lawmakers Say IEA Has Abandoned Energy Security Mission
- Blockchain Demands Attention in Oil and Gas
- Houthis Warn Saudi Arabia of Retaliation If It Backs USA Attacks
- Macquarie Sees USA Oil Production Exiting 2024 at 14MM Barrels Per Day
- Summer Pump Prices Set to Hit $4 a Gallon Just as Americans Hit the Road
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea