Baker Hughes to Buy Stock, Debt after Halliburton Deals Fails

Baker Hughes Inc said it planned to buy back $1.5 billion of shares and $1 billion of debt, using the breakup fee it will receive following the collapse of its proposed buyout by Halliburton Inc.

Baker Hughes will get $3.5 billion as part of a merger agreement, which the companies terminated on Sunday after opposition from U.S. and European antitrust regulators.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit last month to stop the $28 billion deal, arguing it would leave only two dominant oilfield services companies, with Schlumberger Ltd being the other.

Baker Hughes said an initial phase of cost-cutting was expected to result in $500 million of annualized savings by the end of 2016.

The company said it also planned to refinance its $2.5 billion credit facility, which expires in September 2016.

Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri