Saxon discuss sale with Schlumberger, First Reserve
April 22nd, 2008 | by admin |CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Saxon Energy Services Inc (SES.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it is in exclusive discussions with Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and private-equity firm First Reserve Corp that could see the Canadian oilfield service firm sold for about $592 million.
Saxon said in a statement that a corporation owned by Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services firm, and First Reserve, were looking at bidding $7 a share for the Canadian firm, which has 84.6 million shares outstanding.
Saxon, a drilling firm with operations in North and South America, issued the release “in response to recent volatility in its share price and speculation regarding a potential acquisition of Saxon.”
The company’s shares rose 13 percent last week and touched a record $7.39 on Friday, before closing at $6.99 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock rose 6 Canadian cents to $7.05 on Monday morning.
Saxon said it and Schlumberger have joint operations in Mexico and Colombia and that Schlumberger was among the company’s biggest customers, accounting for 16 percent of the Canadian firm’s revenue and crucial to its growth.
Schlumberger could not be immediately reached for comment
(Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Bernadette Baum)