Antitrust says Schlumberger ready to prolong EDC bid beyond Sep 1

GORKI, Moscow Region, Aug 30 (PRIME) -- The Federal Antimonopoly Service and U.S. oilfield servicing giant Schlumberger have agreed to prolong a bid to buy a stake in Russia’s Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC) beyond September 1, Director Igor Artemyev told reporters on Thursday.

“We have discussed the issue with (Schlumberger), they promised that their board of directors would meet to prolong the offer… I have explained to them that we will be unable to decide on the issue until September 1, and they reacted positively,” he said.

In April, Russian government’s commission for foreign investment control preliminary approved a request of Schlumberger to acquire between 25% plus one share and 49% in EDC.

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