BRUSSELS - European Union antitrust enforcers have resumed their investigation into U.S. oilfield services provider Halliburton Co's HAL.N proposed takeover of Baker Hughes BHI.N and will decide by July 11 whether to approve the $35 billion deal.
The European Commission, which halted the investigation on Feb. 18, said it had received further information from both companies.
“Once we received the information from the parties, we restarted the clock and set a new deadline,” Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said.
It would make a decision by July 11, a filing on its website showed on Tuesday.
Halliburton is likely to submit a package of concessions shortly to address regulatory concerns about possible price hikes and less innovation following the merger. It is ready to sell businesses with combined 2013 sales of $5.2 billion.
U.S. antitrust regulators are also examining the bid which has secured approval in Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Turkey.
Since the deal was announced, the industry has been battling falling oil prices and reduced drilling activity as oil producers mothball rigs and cut spending.