Halliburton Says Court Clears Asbestos Settlement
Date: 06-Dec-04
Country: USA
The Halliburton subsidiaries, Kellogg Brown & Root and DII Industries, filed bankruptcy in December 2003 to facilitate the $4.2 billion asbestos and silica settlement. That settlement was approved by a bankruptcy court in July.
The US District Court ruling, issued on Wednesday, would free Halliburton, an oil field services company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, of liability from asbestos lawsuits after a 30 day waiting period ending on Dec. 31, the company said.
On Monday, a bankruptcy judge approved a settlement to end insurance disputes that will result in $1.5 billion in cash funding for a payout fund.
Halliburton said it expects to conclude the bankruptcies by year end and fund its settlement by the end of January.
Analysts said investors were anticipating a smooth exit from the asbestos liabilities, which have weighed on the company's share price for nearly four years.
"The asbestos exposure is virtually done. The stock certainly has been trading as if it were done," said Kevin Wood, analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group in New York.
Halliburton's shares, which were up 1 percent or 38 cents at $38.99 in early afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange, have gained 43 percent since mid-August.
The company also said Friday that a US court ruling Thursday that derailed Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB's proposed asbestos settlement for its Combustion Engineering unit would have no impact on its own settlement.
(Additional reporting by David Brinkerhoff in New York)
