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The
European Commission took the decision last Thursday, according
to a filing on its website.
"This is a standard procedure on merger investigations which is
activated if the notifying parties do not provide an important
piece of information that the Commission has requested from
them," Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said in an email.
The EU competition authority will set a new deadline for its
decision when it has the required information from the
companies. The previous deadline was June 23.
Halliburton is prepared to sell businesses with combined 2013
revenue of $5.2 billion to appease regulators worried about
higher prices and less innovation following the merger. It has
yet to make a formal offer to the Commission.
U.S. antitrust regulators are also examining the bid which has
received the green light in Canada, Colombia, Ecuador,
Kazakhstan, South Africa and Turkey.
The deal comes amid falling oil prices and reduced drilling
activity as oil producers mothball rigs and scale back spending.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter)
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