GE Considering a Dump of Baker Hughes Just Months After Merger
From the Houston Chronicle:
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The future of Baker Hughes is again uncertain as its parent company, the financially struggling General Electric Co., considers unloading its ownership in the energy services giant just four months after acquiring a majority stake in a much-heralded merger.
The disclosure by the new GE chief executive John Flannery that he is seeking a way out of the deal consummated by his predecessor, Jeffrey Immelt, adds to three years of turmoil for the storied Houston firm that traces its roots back to a revolutionary drill bit invented by Howard Hughes Sr. more than a century ago.
Since November 2014, Baker Hughes has been buffeted by an unsuccessful takeover bid by its local rival, Halliburton, and battered by the worst oil bust in a generation before seemingly getting rescued by a merger with GE's oil and gas division, which closed in July.
GE owns 62.5 percent of Baker Hughes, but it's still unclear how it might divest its holdings. GE, headquartered in Boston, could seek a single buyer or unload the stock in smaller sales to investors and financial institutions, analysts said. But either way, Baker Hughes eventually would lose the benefits of GE's deep pockets, industrial reach and digital strengths.Read more by clicking here.
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