FAS: documents for Schlumberger/EDC deal not ready for next govt commission
MOSCOW. Sept 21 (Interfax) - Schlumberger's purchase of 46% of shares in Russian oilfield services group Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC) may not come up for consideration at the next meeting of the government commission on foreign investment because the companies have not submitted all the required documents to the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS).
"Information on the deal is still incomplete. Not all of the information has been received. The deal is complex, demands detailed analysis. If the materials [for the deal] arrive in sufficient volumes and do not raise further questions, then we may propose examining Schlumberger's deal to purchase Eurasia Drilling shares at the upcoming meeting of the government commission," the head of the FAS department for supervising foreign investment, Armen Khanyan, told Interfax.
It was reported at the beginning of summer that the FAS asked Schlumberger for additional materials concerning the deal. It made another request for additional information in July. So far no response has been received.
It was also reported that the deal would be submitted to the next meting of the government commission. The date for the meeting has not been announced yet. It was earlier expected to take place first in August, then in September. The FAS is currently working to set the date, Khanyan said, adding that the commission might meet in the second half of October.
Examination of the deal was removed from the agenda of the government commission's latest meeting, at the beginning of June, because more work was needed.
Schlumberger reached agreement to purchase 46% of shares in Eurasia Drilling, with the option to increase the stake to 100%. The FAS, which needed to clear the deal, forwarded the materials to the government commission on foreign investment, which said it would agree to the acquisition so long as Schlumberger complies with nine conditions that are "protective" in nature. Last week, FAS chief Igor Artemyev told journalists that the list of conditions might be expanded. Neither the government bodies nor the companies have disclosed the conditions.
Due to the need for the government commission to approve the deal, the date for closing the share acquisition has been moved back a number of times, most recently to September 30.
Despite the difficulties, Eurasia Drilling and Schlumberger have no plans to cancel the deal or amend its terms.