The tribunal of Brazil's competition authority, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE), has approved the proposed merger of Saipem and Subsea 7 to form Saipem 7. The approval is subject to commitments set out in a merger control agreement, Saipem announced on November 4.
To address competition concerns raised during the tribunal's review, the companies have agreed to sell the pipelay and heavy-lift vessel Seven Borealis. The commitment contains provisions to ensure continuity in executing projects in the existing backlog.
Saipem said it expects the sale to have no significant effect on the merger's strategic rationale. It also confirmed the synergies previously announced to the market.
The 182.2-metre Seven Borealis was built in 2012. The vessel carries S-lay and J-lay systems, a 5,000-tonne main crane and two work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROV). It is the only S-lay/J-lay unit among Subsea 7's four rigid-pipelay vessels classed as "global enablers." The other three, Seven Vega, Seven Oceans and Seven Navica, are reel-lay vessels.
CADE's tribunal reopened its review in July after accepting appeals from Petrobras and the Brazilian Association of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Companies (ABEP) against an earlier unconditional clearance. Customers and competitors had objected to the deal in Brazil in 2025.
Other regulatory reviews are still under way.
The European Commission's in-depth investigation has no current decision deadline: the deadline was extended to December 16 and the review was later suspended pending further information. Australia's competition regulator has a determination period ending December 22.
Under the merger terms, all outstanding conditions must be met or waived by December 31, 2026.