8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 2, 2024

SCHLUMBERGER N.V. (SCHLUMBERGER LIMITED)

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Curaçao

1-4601

52-0684746

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

(Commission

File Number)

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

Addresses

42 rue Saint-Dominique, Paris, France 75007

5599 San Felipe, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77056

Addresses

62 Buckingham Gate, London, United Kingdom SW1E 6AJ

Parkstraat 83, The Hague, The Netherlands 2514 JG

(Addresses of principal executive offices and zip or postal codes)

Registrant’s telephone number in the United States, including area code: (713) 513-2000

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☒	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Trading
Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange

on which registered

common stock, par value $0.01 per share

SLB

New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 1.01

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On April 2, 2024, Schlumberger Limited (“SLB”), a Curaçao corporation, and its indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries, Sodium Holdco, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Holdco”), and Sodium Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Merger Sub” and, together with SLB and Holdco, the “SLB Parties”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with ChampionX Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“ChampionX”), pursuant to which SLB will acquire ChampionX in an all-stock transaction. The Merger Agreement has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of ChampionX (“ChampionX Board”) and the boards of directors of each of Holdco and Merger Sub and has been approved by the board of directors of SLB.

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Holdco will acquire all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of ChampionX in a transaction in which Merger Sub will merge with and into ChampionX, with ChampionX surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdco and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of SLB (the “Merger”). Upon the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”), each share of ChampionX common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (other than any shares of ChampionX common stock held in the treasury of ChampionX or held by the SLB Parties or any direct or indirect subsidiary of SLB) will be exchanged for 0.735 shares of SLB common stock (the “Exchange Ratio,” and the shares to be issued in the Merger, the “Merger Shares”). Immediately following the Closing, ChampionX shareholders will own approximately 9% of SLB’s outstanding common stock on a pro forma basis.

At the effective time of the Merger, each issued and outstanding ChampionX equity incentive award will be cancelled and converted as follows:

•

each ChampionX stock option will convert into an option to acquire shares of SLB common stock based on the Exchange Ratio,

•

each ChampionX stock appreciation right that is in-the-money (whether vested or unvested) will convert into cash based on the spread value of such ChampionX stock appreciation right multiplied by the Exchange Ratio and each out-of-the-money ChampionX stock appreciation right (whether vested or unvested) will be cancelled for no consideration,

•

each ChampionX restricted stock unit award will convert into an SLB restricted stock unit award based on the Exchange Ratio, and each dividend equivalent right accrued under such ChampionX restricted stock units will be cancelled and converted into the right to receive an amount in cash equal to the amount accrued in a bookkeeping account as of immediately prior to the Closing with respect to such dividend equivalent right,

•

each ChampionX performance share award will convert into an SLB restricted stock unit award based on the Exchange Ratio and based on the attainment of performance goals pursuant to the methodology agreed between SLB and ChampionX, and

•

each ChampionX deferred stock unit award will convert into the right to receive shares of SLB common stock based on the Exchange Ratio.

Completion of the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary conditions, including, among other things:

•

approval by ChampionX’s stockholders,

•

receipt of certain regulatory approvals, including the expiration or early termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the receipt of CFIUS approval, if required or warranted,

•

effectiveness of a registration statement on Form S-4 that will be filed by SLB, which will include a proxy statement of ChampionX (the “Form S-4”), to register the Merger Shares,

•

approval of the listing of the Merger Shares on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to an official notice of issuance,

•

the absence of certain legal restraints that enjoin, prohibit, prevent or make illegal the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (“Mutual Legal Restraint”),

•

with respect to SLB, (i) the absence of certain specified legal restraints that enjoin, prohibit, prevent or make illegal the consummation of the Transactions (“Specified Legal Restraint”), (ii) the absence of investigations of the transaction under specified regulatory laws, (iii) the expiration of all waiting periods applicable under specified regulatory filings following Sodium’s determination to submit such filings (“Specified Regulatory Filings”), (iv) receipt of all clearances, consents and approvals under the Specified Regulatory Filings and (v) the absence of certain other regulatory laws as set forth in the Merger Agreement (collectively, the “Specified SLB Conditions”), and

•

subject to certain materiality qualifications and exceptions, the accuracy of each party’s representations and warranties and each party’s compliance with, or waiver of its obligations under, its covenants in the Merger Agreement.

The Merger Agreement contains customary representations and warranties of the parties. The Merger Agreement also contains customary covenants and agreements, including, among others, covenants relating to:

•

the conduct of business of each of the parties between the date of the signing of the Merger Agreement and the effective time of the Merger,

•

regulatory matters, including the parties’ efforts to consummate the Closing and to obtain approvals from governmental agencies,

•

the joint preparation of the Form S-4,

•

ChampionX’s obligation to hold a stockholder meeting for purposes of adopting the Merger Agreement and to use commercially reasonable efforts to solicit proxies from ChampionX’s stockholders with respect thereto (the “ChampionX Stockholder Approval”),

•

employee benefits to be provided to continuing employees of ChampionX after the Closing, and

•

non-solicitation by ChampionX of third-party acquisition proposals.

The Merger Agreement contains provisions granting SLB or ChampionX, or both of them, rights to terminate the Merger Agreement under specified conditions, including:

•

by the mutual written consent of SLB and ChampionX,

•

by either SLB or ChampionX if the consummation of the Merger does not occur on or prior to April 2, 2025 (the “End Date”) (subject to an automatic extension to October 2, 2025 if all Closing conditions, other than those related to (i) the absence of a Mutual Legal Restraint in relation to certain specified regulatory laws, (ii) the expiration or termination of all waiting periods (or any extension thereof) under the HSR Act or any commitment to, or agreement with, any governmental entity to delay the consummation of, or not to consummate before a certain date, the transaction and the receipt of all clearances, consents and approvals under the certain specified regulatory laws, have not been satisfied) or (iii) at the election of SLB, the Specified SLB Conditions (an “Extension Election”).

•

by either SLB or ChampionX, if the ChampionX Stockholder Approval is not obtained at a meeting of ChampionX stockholders with respect thereto,

•

by either SLB or ChampionX, if the Closing would violate any final and non-appealable Mutual Legal Restraint with respect to the Merger,

•

by ChampionX, if any SLB Party has materially breached a representation, warranty or covenant, and such breach would result in a failure of a condition to Closing and is not cured or is not curable within a specified time period, subject to certain other restrictions,

•

by SLB, if ChampionX has materially breached a representation, warranty or covenant, and such breach would result in a failure of a condition to Closing and is not cured or is not curable within a specified time period, subject to certain other restrictions,

•

by SLB, if the ChampionX Board changes its recommendation to ChampionX stockholders to adopt the Merger Agreement and approve the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, subject to certain exceptions under the Merger Agreement, and

•

by SLB, if the Closing would violate any final and non-appealable Specified Legal Restraint.

Upon termination of the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, including the termination by SLB in the event of a change of recommendation by the ChampionX board of directors or the consummation of a competing acquisition proposal following the termination of the Merger Agreement for certain specified reasons, ChampionX would be required to pay SLB a termination fee of $265.4 million.

Upon termination of the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, including the termination by either party if certain Mutual Legal Restraints exist, specified regulatory approvals have not been obtained or if the consummation of the Merger does not occur on or prior to the End Date or by SLB if it does not exercise its right to an Extension Election or if Specified Legal Restraints exist and the Closing conditions relating to the absence of Mutual Legal Restraints or the receipt of certain specified regulatory approvals have not been satisfied, SLB would be required to pay ChampionX a termination fee of $326.6 million.

The Merger Agreement will be filed to provide security holders with information regarding its terms. It is not intended to provide any other factual information about the SLB Parties or ChampionX. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Merger Agreement were made solely for purposes of the agreement and as of specific dates, were solely for the benefit of the parties to the Merger Agreement, may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties, including being qualified by confidential disclosures made for the purposes of allocating contractual risk between the parties to the Merger Agreement instead of establishing these matters as facts, and may be subject to standards of materiality applicable to the contracting parties that differ from those applicable to security holders. Security holders are not third-party beneficiaries under the Merger Agreement and should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any descriptions thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of the SLB Parties or ChampionX. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of the representations and warranties may change after the date of the Merger Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in SLB’s or ChampionX’s public disclosures.

Item 8.01

Other Events.

On April 2, 2024, SLB issued a press release announcing the execution of the Merger Agreement. A copy of the press release is filed with this Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated into this Item 8.01 by reference.

Additionally, on April 2, 2024, SLB issued an investor presentation regarding the matters described in Item 1.01 of this Form 8-K, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 99.2 and is incorporated into this Item 8.01 by reference.

Additional Information about the Transaction and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed transaction, SLB intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Form S-4”) that will include a proxy statement of ChampionX and that also constitutes a prospectus of SLB with respect to the shares of SLB to be issued in the proposed transaction (the “proxy statement/prospectus”). Each of SLB and ChampionX may also file other relevant documents with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction. This document is not a substitute for the Form S-4 or proxy statement/prospectus or any other document that SLB or ChampionX may file with the SEC. The definitive proxy statement/prospectus (if and when available) will be mailed to stockholders of ChampionX. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT MAY BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Form S-4 and the proxy statement/prospectus (if and when available) and other documents containing important information about SLB, ChampionX and the proposed transaction, once such documents are filed with the SEC through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with, or furnished to, the SEC by SLB will be available free of charge on SLB’s website at https://investorcenter.slb.com. Copies of the documents filed with, or furnished to, the SEC by ChampionX will be available free of charge on ChampionX’s website at https://investors.championx.com. The information included on, or accessible through, SLB’s or ChampionX’s website is not incorporated by reference into this communication.

Participants in the Solicitation

SLB, ChampionX and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of SLB, including a description of their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in SLB’s proxy statement for its 2024 Annual General Meeting of Stockholders (https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000087347/000130817924000033/lslb2024_def14a.htm), which was filed with the SEC on February 22, 2024, including under the sections entitled “Director Compensation”, “Security Ownership by Management and Our Board”, “Compensation Discussion and Analysis”, “2023 Compensation Decisions and Results”, “Elements of 2023 Total Compensation”, “Long-Term Equity Incentive Awards”, “Executive Compensation Tables”, “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2023”, “Outstanding Equity Awards at Year-End 2023”, “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” and “Pay vs. Performance Comparison”, and SLB’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000087347/000095017024006884/slb-20231231.htm), which was filed with the SEC on January 24, 2024, including under the sections entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance”, “Item 11. Executive Compensation”, “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters”, and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence”. Information about the directors and executive officers of ChampionX, including a description of their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in ChampionX’s proxy statement for its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1723089/000172308923000073/championx-20230327.htm), which was filed with the SEC on March 29, 2023, including under the sections entitled “Executive Compensation Highlights”, “Director Compensation”, “2022 Director Compensation Table”, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management”, “Compensation Discussion and Analysis”, “Key Compensation Overview for 2022”, “Summary of 2022 Compensation for Named Executive Officers”, “Elements of Our Executive Compensation Program”, “Long-Term Equity Incentive Compensation”, “Additional Executive Compensation Governance Considerations”, “Executive Compensation Tables”, “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change-in-Control”, “Pay-versus-Performance” and ChampionX’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1723089/000172308924000011/championx-20231231.htm), which was filed with the SEC on February 6, 2024, including under the sections entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive

Officers and Corporate Governance”, “Item 11. Executive Compensation”, “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence”. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the Form S-4 and the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction when such materials become available. Investors should read the Form S-4 and the proxy statement/prospectus carefully when available before making any voting or investment decisions. You may obtain free copies of these documents from SLB or ChampionX using the sources indicated above.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act.

Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the proposed transaction between SLB and ChampionX, including statements regarding the benefits of the transaction and the anticipated timing of the transaction, and information regarding the businesses of SLB and ChampionX, including expectations regarding outlook and all underlying assumptions, SLB’s and ChampionX’s objectives, plans and strategies, information relating to operating trends in markets where SLB and ChampionX operate, statements that contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition, and all other statements other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that SLB or ChampionX intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Such statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions made based on information currently available to management. All statements in this communication, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements that may be identified by the use of the words “outlook,” “guidance,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “should,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “targets,” “may,” “can,” “believe,” “predict,” “potential,” “projected,” “projections,” “precursor,” “forecast,” “ambition,” “goal,” “scheduled,” “think,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “see,” “likely,” and other similar expressions or variations, but not all forward-looking statements include such words. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and which may cause SLB’s or ChampionX’s actual results and performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors and risks that may impact future results and performance include, but are not limited to those factors and risks described in Part I, “Item 1. Business”, “Item 1A. Risk Factors”, and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in SLB’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on January 24, 2024, and Part 1, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in ChampionX’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on February 6, 2024, and each of their respective, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

These include, but are not limited to, and in each case as a possible result of the proposed transaction on each of SLB and ChampionX: the ultimate outcome of the proposed transaction between SLB and ChampionX, including the possibility that ChampionX stockholders will not adopt the merger agreement in respect of the proposed transaction; the effect of the announcement of the proposed transaction; the ability to operate the SLB and ChampionX respective businesses, including business disruptions; difficulties in retaining and hiring key personnel and employees; the ability to maintain favorable business relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners; the terms and timing of the proposed transaction; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the proposed transaction; the anticipated or actual tax treatment of the proposed transaction; the ability to satisfy closing conditions to the completion of the proposed transaction (including the adoption of the merger agreement in respect of the proposed transaction by ChampionX stockholders); other risks related to the completion of the proposed transaction and actions related thereto; the ability of SLB and ChampionX to integrate the business successfully and to achieve anticipated synergies and value creation from the proposed transaction; changes in demand for SLB’s or ChampionX’s products and services; global market, political, and economic conditions, including in the countries in which SLB and ChampionX operate; the ability to secure government regulatory approvals on the terms expected, at all or in a timely manner; the extent of growth of the oilfield services market generally, including for chemical solutions in production and midstream operations; the global macro-economic environment, including headwinds caused by inflation, rising interest rates, unfavorable currency exchange rates, and potential recessionary or depressionary conditions; the impact of shifts in prices or margins of the products that SLB or ChampionX sells or services that SLB or ChampionX provides, including due to a shift towards lower margin products or services; cyber-attacks, information security and data privacy; the impact of public health crises, such as pandemics (including COVID-19) and epidemics and any related company or government policies and actions to protect the health and safety of individuals or government policies or actions to maintain the functioning of national or global economies and markets; trends in crude oil and natural gas prices, including trends in chemical solutions across the oil and natural gas industries, that may affect the drilling and

production activity, profitability and financial stability of SLB’s and ChampionX’s customers and therefore the demand for, and profitability of, their products and services; litigation and regulatory proceedings, including any proceedings that may be instituted against SLB or ChampionX related to the proposed transaction; failure to effectively and timely address energy transitions that could adversely affect the businesses of SLB or ChampionX, results of operations, and cash flows of SLB or ChampionX; and disruptions of SLB’s or ChampionX’s information technology systems.

These risks, as well as other risks related to the proposed transaction, will be included in the Form S-4 and proxy statement/prospectus that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors to be presented in the registration statement on Form S-4 are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. For additional information about other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to SLB’s and ChampionX’s respective periodic reports and other filings with the SEC, including the risk factors identified in SLB’s and ChampionX’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, respectively, and SLB’s and ChampionX’s subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date hereof. Neither SLB nor ChampionX undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Item 9.01

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)

Exhibits

The exhibits listed below are furnished pursuant to Item 9.01 of this Form 8-K.


99.1		Press Release dated April 2, 2024.

99.2		Investor Presentation dated April 2, 2024.

104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).