By Inti Landauro
PARIS--French oil-service company Technip SA on Sunday said it
has dropped plans to acquire peer CGG after talks on a potential
merger failed.
Last month, Technip made a preliminary takeover offer of EUR1.46
billion ($1.83 billion) in cash for CGG. The offer of EUR8.30 a
share represented a 27% premium over CGG's closing price on
November 19.
At the time, CGG, a Paris-listed specialist in exploration
equipment and services, rejected the offer.
Following the CGG rejection, Technip said it proposed a series
of alternative options to a tender offer. However, discussions on
the options haven't resulted in an agreement, Technip said in a
statement Sunday. In a separate statement, CGG's board said none of
the options proposed by Technip was satisfactory
The announcement of Technip's bid came just days after U.S.
giant Halliburton Co. announced plans to buy smaller rival Baker
Hughes Inc. in a deal valued at $34.6 billion, prompting
speculation that more deals in the sector were in the offing.
The industry's main players are rushing to buy smaller rivals to
offset the effects of falling oil prices on their business.
Following the price decline of the past months, oil service
companies anticipate their customers will cut spending on oil and
gas projects.
Technip didn't provide any details on the talks with CGG but
said its Chief Executive Thierry Pilenko will host a conference
call on Monday to discuss the abandoned operation.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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