Halliburton and Baker Hughes are the second- and third-largest oil-field services companies in the world by revenue, respectively, behind Schlumberger Ltd.
The talks are moving quickly and a deal could be forged soon, people familiar with the matter said. There is no guarantee the companies will reach an agreement, however, or that regulators would approve one if they did.
A purchase of Baker Hughes would likely be at a premium to the company’s market value, which stood at just under $22 billion before The Wall Street Journal reported the talks Thursday afternoon. Baker Hughes shares were up around 25%, including after-hours trading, following the report. That gave the company a market value of about $26 billion. Halliburton’s market value is about $48 billion.
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