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Halliburton refiles bid for EU approval of $35 billion Baker Hughes buy

Various Halliburton equipment being stored at the equipment yard in Alvarado, Texas June 2, 2015. REUTERS/Cooper Neill

BRUSSELS - U.S. oil services provider Halliburton Co has refiled a request for EU antitrust approval of its $35 billion (£23.2 billion) bid for smaller rival Baker Hughes , four months after regulators rejected an earlier application because of insufficient data. The European Commission will decide by Jan. 12 whether to clear the deal or open a full investigation, according to a filing on its website. Halliburton has said it is prepared to sell three drilling businesses in Mexico and an expandable liner hangers unit as well as three Baker Hughes businesses which includes offshore cementing activities in Australia, Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, Norway and the United Kingdom. It has previously said it was willing to sell businesses with total revenues of $7.5 billion to appease regulators. The companies, the No. 2 and No. 3 in the oilfield services industry, would leapfrog current leader Schlumberger after the merger. Halliburton asked for EU approval for the deal on July 23 but the file was declared incomplete on July 31. U.S. antitrust authorities are also investigating the deal while Canada, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Turkey have given the green light. Australia's antitrust agency, however, raised concerns last month and will issue its decision on Dec. 17. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter)