GE to acquire Vetco Gray for $1.9 billion

Mumbai: General Electric Company (GE) will acquire Houston-based oil and gas field equipment supplier Vetco Gray for roughly $1.9 billion, as it expands its presence in the oil and gas industry. The transaction is expected to close in early 2007, GE said.

Vetco Gray, a subsidiary of the privately-held Vetco International Ltd, is expected to generate more than $1.6 billion in sales in 2006, GE said. Vecto International is owned by three private equity firms, Candover, 3i Group and JP Morgan Partners.

The company which has its key centres in Houston in the US, Aberdeen in the UK, Stavanger and Oslo in Norway and in Singapore, has 5,000 employees in 60 locations and has bases in more than 30 countries, GE said in a regulatory filing.

The Vetco partners Candover, 3i and JP Morgan Partners will continue to own Vetco Aibel, which designs, engineers, builds and maintains oil and natural gas production facilities, process systems and related products, GE said.

Vetco Gray is a leading supplier of products, systems and services for onshore and offshore drilling and production, with a century of experience in the oil and gas industry.

Vetco Gray can offer, through a single interface, customised or standardised solutions to meet the needs of any drilling and production project from concept to full production.