EU Clears Schlumberger To Buy US' Smith International

The European Commission Monday cleared oil field services company Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) to buy U.S. peer Smith International Inc. (SII).

The $11 billion deal will give Schlumberger, the largest oil field service company by market capitalization and sales, revenue twice that of its nearest rival Halliburton Co. (HAL). The company expects to realize synergies from the deal of $160 million in 2011 and double that in 2012.

The European Union's antitrust regulator said the deal wouldn't give rise to any significant competition concerns.

Schlumberger will give Smith shareholders a 0.69 share for every Smith share they hold.

Schlumberger is mainly involved in oil location and extraction. It hopes to use the drill bits and related equipment Smith manufactures to explore technologies for drilling in more demanding environments.

-By David Tidmarsh, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 (0)2 741 1 489; david.tidmarsh@dowjones.com

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