Schlumberger gets tired of the wait: the purchase of Eurasia Drilling not to take place

The largest transaction on the Russian oilfield services market for $1.7 billion has failed - Schlumberger didn’t prolong the term of the purchase of 45.6% of the largest Russian drilling company Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC). The investor couldn’t get permission to purchase from the Russian authorities, which feared an excessive strengthening of the position of foreign companies in the sector. Analysts believe that EDC would be able to find other ways to share technologies with Schlumberger, and the market says that the Russian company was unable to eliminate the risk of be merged "by any public player".

Schlumberger, which sought permission from the authorities of the Russian Federation for the purchase of a share in the Russian drilling company EDC from late January, has stated that it won’t again prolong the closing of the transaction, which will expire on September 30. The Government Commission on Foreign Investments hasn’t given the permission for the deal, and the next meeting of it will take place no earlier than in October, which means that the largest transaction on the Russian oilfield services market won’t be closed. Schlumberger said it would now "focus on other opportunities in the area of ​​mergers and acquisitions". EDC declined to comment.