Oilfield services giant Baker Hughes swooped in and bought Chart Industries for $13.6 billion on July 29, outbidding and canceling a planned merger of equals between Chart and Flowserve that was previously announced in early June.
After a massive wave of consolidation from the oil and gas producers the last two years, the fragmented services sector is now shrinking as well as the top players buy up more of the midsized players. Baker Hughes is one of the so-called Big Three services companies globally along with Halliburton and industry leader SLB, which just closed its nearly $8 billion acquisition of ChampionX in July.
Baker Hughes (No. 155 in the Fortune 500) is making a big bet on the booming liquefied natural gas (LNG) export business—as well as on data center growth—in which Chart specializes on equipment manufacturing and services. Chart operates 65 manufacturing locations with over 50 service centers globally. Baker Hughes gains scale and further diversifies in growth industries through the deal.
Baker Hughes’s all-cash deal offers a 22% premium on Chart’s shares, valuing Chart at more than $9.4 billion after its July 28 closing market cap value of $7.7 billion. The $13.6 billion enterprise value includes the assumption of Chart’s debt. Chart’s stock shot up by more than 15% in early trading, while Baker dipped by about 1%.
“The combination positions Baker Hughes to be a technology leader that can provide engineering and technology expertise to meet the growing demand for lower-carbon, efficient energy and industrial solutions across attractive growth markets such as LNG, data centers and new energy,” Baker Hughes chairman and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said in a statement.
Chart determined the Baker bid represented a “superior proposal” to its pending merger with Flowserve as the two services companies were planning to combine to scale up and compete with bigger competitors. Flowserve will receive a $266 million termination payment.
“The decision not to pursue a revised offer for Chart demonstrates our commitment to financial discipline, as well as our confidence in the growth prospects of our standalone business,” said Flowserve President and CEO Scott Rowe in a statement.
Flowserve stock rose 1% in early trading.
A long journey
The deal is the biggest for Baker Hughes in years after undergoing a decade-long odyssey from nearly being acquired, to merging with General Electric, and now operating independently and arguably bigger than ever.
Nine years ago, Halliburton’s $28 billion attempted takeover of Baker Hughes was canceled amid antitrust concerns in the U.S. and Europe. Today, Baker’s market cap is hovering near $45 billion.
After the Halliburton deal went bust, Baker Hughes merged with GE’s oil and gas business, which Simonelli previously led. But, as the parent GE struggled, the decision was made to spin Baker Hughes back on its own, and GE eventually divested.
In late 2019, “Baker Hughes, a GE company” became Baker Hughes again.
