SLB, a US-based drilling contractor, has finalised its previously announced all-stock acquisition of oilfield services company ChampionX, valued at $7.75bn.
Under the terms of the agreement, ChampionX shareholders exchanged their shares for 0.735 SLB common shares each. This resulted in ChampionX’s shareholders owning about 9% of SLB’s outstanding shares.
The acquisition, which was announced in April 2024, was cleared after securing the final approval from the UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) on 16 July.
The CMA’s approval came after both SLB and ChampionX agreed to divest certain segments of their operations to address concerns over market competition.
SLB will sell its UK production chemical technologies business, while ChampionX will divest its interest in US Synthetic, a company that produces polycrystalline diamond bearings for directional drilling. These actions are intended to alleviate fears of a potential market monopoly.
Prior to the acquisition, ChampionX was listed on Nasdaq. It is engaged in providing technology and solutions for oil and gas exploration.
The inclusion of ChampionX’s technology is expected to bolster SLB’s capabilities in production chemicals and related systems, supporting asset management from completion through decommissioning.
This acquisition strengthens SLB’s position within the industry by combining ChampionX’s North American customer relationships and production-focused solutions with SLB’s international reach. The merger is designed to enhance performance across the entire production lifecycle and create value for worldwide customers.
SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch said: “This acquisition comes at a pivotal time in the industry as our customers increasingly prioritise advancements in production to maximise recovery of oil and gas.
“This move expands SLB’s presence in this important, less cyclical, and growing market that aligns closely with our returns-focused, capital-light core growth strategy. It extends our capability to provide integrated production solutions and provides another platform for accelerating digital adoption, optimizing production and reducing total cost of ownership for our customers.”
SLB projects around $400m in annual pretax synergies within three years due to revenue growth and cost efficiencies following the merger. In addition, SLB plans to return $4bn to shareholders this year.
