The
European Commission, which halted its investigation into the $35
billion deal last month while waiting for more details from the
companies, will now decide by Aug. 11 whether to clear or veto
the takeover.
"Once the requested missing information is provided the
Commission restarts the clock," Commission spokesman Ricardo
Cardoso said in an email.
The EU antitrust authority has previously expressed concerns
that the deal may reduce competition and innovation.
Halliburton has said it is willing to sell assets from both
companies with a combined 2013 revenue of $5.2 billion but has
yet to make a formal offer to regulators.
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week to stop
the merger, valued at $35 billion when it was first announced in
November 2014, saying it would leave only two dominant suppliers
in 20 business lines in the global well drilling and oil
industry construction services industry, with Schlumberger NV
being one of the two.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
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