Schlumberger to acquire Cameron at hefty premium

US oilfield services giant Schlumberger announced it would pay a 37% premium to acquire oilfield equipment maker Cameron and strengthen its technological edge, defying range-bound commodity prices and recent volatility in global financial markets.

The cash and stock transaction valued Cameron at $14.8bn, for a 37% premium on Cameron´s 20-day volume weighted average share price and 56.3% more than the closing price of $42.47 for the NYSE-listed stock on 25 August.

Under the terms of the agreement, which has already been approved by the boards of bith companies, Cameron shareholders will receive 0.716 shares of Schlumberger common stock and a cash payment of $14.44 in exchange for each Cameron share.

Schlumberger chief Paal Kibsgaard highlighted that "the next industry technical breakthrough will be achieved through integration of Schlumberger’s reservoir and well technologies with Cameron’s leadership in surface, drilling, processing and flow control technologies. Deep reservoir knowledge further enabled by instrumentation, software and automation, will launch a new era of complete drilling and production system performance."

The combined outfit had sales of $59bn in 2014, with between $300m-$600m in pre-tax synergies expected to accrue to shareholders in the two years following their merger.

The merger would build on their 6,000-person strong OneSubsea jont-venture, a provider of integrated solutions for the subsea oil and gas market.