Fairfield conglomerate General Electric put forth a $1.3 billion offer this week for an engineer and manufacturer of pipelines for oil and gas transportation to gain a foothold into Brazil, Africa and Asia.
The acquisition of Wellstream Holdings PLC is expected to be complete in the first quarter 2011. The move would allow GE Oil & Gas to make significant in-roads into those markets where significant offshore, deepwater oil and natural gas reserves are starting to be mined.
The acquisition also will allow GE into move into the floating production, storage and offloading offshore segment. Wellstream operates two manufacturing facilities in Newcastle, UK, and Niterói, Brazil, employing approximately 850.
“The deal is at an attractive point in the industrial investment cycle and is the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions over the last decade that have helped GE Oil & Gas expand its portfolio across all segments of the oil and gas industry and deliver consistent growth and profitability,” said Claudi Santiago, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas, in a statement.
