Schlumberger Ltd., New York, (NYSE: SLB) has acquired the 30% interest in the seismic joint venture WesternGeco from its partner Baker Hughes Inc., Houston, (NYSE: BHI; EBS) for $2.4 billion in cash. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of April, and Baker Hughes expects to record a pre-tax gain of approximately $1.74 billion (approximately $1.05 billion, net of tax). Cash proceeds, net of tax, are expected to be approximately $1.8 billion. Following closing of this transaction, Schlumberger will have full ownership of WesternGeco. WesternGeco is the world's largest seismic company and provides underground data to identify potentially commercial oil and gas reservoirs. Its first quarter revenue was $530 million, up 40% from the same period last year. Chad Deaton, Baker Hughes' chairman and chief executive says, "We have been pleased with the results from WesternGeco over the last several quarters and with the performance of the WesternGeco management team. However, the $2.4 billion sales price provides us with an excellent point to exit our minority ownership position. We remain excited about the growth in the global market for our products and services that we see continuing for the next several years." Baker Hughes plans to use the net cash proceeds to repurchase stock accordingly the company also announced that its board has increased its stock repurchase authorization by $1.8 billion. Baker Hughes was advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co.
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