Halliburton, Baker Hughes Combine Operations

Two of the nation’s largest oil field service companies, Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc., agreed to combine operations, a move that company officials said will save an estimated $2 billion a year in expenses.

Each company operates a large fleet of trucks to support oil and gas drilling operations in the United States and Canada. Halliburton ranks No. 6 on Transport Topics’ Top 100 list of largest private carriers with 5,025 tractors, 1,009 straight trucks and 8,437 trailers. Baker Hughes ranks No. 15 with 2,285 tractors, 1,817 straight trucks and 2,845 trailers.

Under terms of the deal announced Nov. 17, Halliburton will pay $78.62 for each share of Baker Hughes stock, or $34.6 billion. On a pro forma basis, the combined company would have 2013 revenue of $51.8 billion with more than 136,000 employees and operations in 80 countries.

Both companies are headquartered in Houston.