"the oil well firefighter being bought by Halliburton Co. for more than $240 million"

[ProSense]

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Boots & Coots Inc., the oil well firefighter being bought by Halliburton Co. for more than $240 million, was sued by an investor who contends some company officials wrongly stand to gain a windfall in the deal.

Boots & Coots on March 1 awarded some executives restricted stock grants at $1.88 a share, and the stock may be sold at the Halliburton offering price of $3 a share, stockholder Herbert Silverberg said yesterday in a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit in Wilmington.

The suit was filed “for the benefit of the company,” “and seeks to disgorge the restricted stock awarded by the board to themselves,” as well as damages, according to the complaint.

Halliburton, an energy services engineering company, said April 9 it would a pay 28 percent premium for Boots & Coots in cash and stock to add firefighting services. Both companies are based in Houston.

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Oilfield services giant Halliburton Co. (HAL) said late Friday it will buy Boots & Coots Inc. (WEL) in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $232 million.

Shares of Boots & Coots, which provides pressure-control services as well as emergency response and control of oil and gas well blowouts and well fires, jumped 23% to $2.88 in light premarket trading on Monday.

The deal comes amid ongoing consolidation in the oilfield-service space amid a struggle for the industry in 2009 amid waning demand. Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) is about to close on its $6.6 billion purchase of peer BJ Services Co. (BJS) while industry leader Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) in February unveiled an $11 billion deal to buy Smith International Inc. (SII).

Under the terms of its agreement, Boots & Coots shareholders will receive $1.73 in cash and $1.27 worth of Halliburton stock for each of their Boots & Coots shares. That $3 price was a 28% premium to Friday's closing level.

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Interesting. Maybe they'll get to put out the fire at the well Halliburton just cemented.

[ProSense]

1. Wonder if the MSM investigative reporters will be all over this? n/t

[Hutzpa]

2. Halliburton cemeted the well

hmmmm....

What was BP thinking?