Saipem and Subsea 7 Ink $45 Billion Mega Merger

MILAN/OSLO, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Italy’s Saipem has agreed to merge with Norwegian rival Subsea 7 in an all-share deal to create a leading global player in offshore energy services.

The combined group, to be renamed Saipem7, will have an order backlog of 43 billion euros ($45 billion), revenue of about 20 billion, and core earnings of more than 2 billion, the two companies announced late on Sunday.

Saipem’s shares opened up more than 5% on Monday before reversing to fall more than 4% while Subsea 7 was up 3.2% as of 1324 GMT.

Analysts during a call with the two groups’ top teams cited concerns about antitrust risks, a long schedule for completing the merger, and the payment of a special dividend to Subsea 7 investors.

Saipem and Subsea 7 executives said the planned merger would combine complementary businesses across oil service segments and geographies.

“It will allow our clients to have one global o…