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GEa?s Acquisition of Wellstream: Shaping a New Era in Subsea Oil and Gas Production

^{Published on 2011-03-08 11:20:24 - Market Wire}
 

LONDON & RIO DE JANEIRO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--GE (NYSE: GE) is pleased to announce that another significant milestone has been reached in its strategic acquisition of Wellstream Holdings PLC. This morning, Wellstream announced that the listing of its ordinary shares (aWellstreama™s Sharesa) on the Official List had been cancelled and Wellstreama™s shares ceased to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange as of 8 a.m. (London time).

As of the close of trading on March 4, 2011, GE, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, General Electric Austria GMBH, had received valid acceptances for 98.63 percent of Wellstreama™s Shares. GE announced on February 16, 2011, that it had commenced the compulsory acquisition of Wellstreama™s Shares from shareholders who have not yet accepted GEa™s offer, which it expects to complete on or about March 30, 2011. The acquisition of Wellstream expands GE Oil & Gasa™ extensive subsea manufacturing and services portfolio and accelerates its presence in the fast growing deepwater production regions of Africa, Asia and Brazil.

Wellstream, which has more than 850 employees and operates two manufacturing facilities in Newcastle, United Kingdom, and Niteri, Brazil, specializes in the engineering and manufacture of high-quality flexible risers and flowline products for oil and gas transportation in the subsea production industry.

The $1.3 billion (800 million GBP) acquisition of Wellstream enables GE to capitalize on growth in the floating production, storage and offloading offshore segment which underpins deepwater oil and gas production.

Claudi Santiago, president and CEO, GE Oil & Gas said, aWellstreama™s people, technology and customer relationships, including those in Brazil, are an excellent addition to the GE Oil & Gas subsea portfolio, complementing our existing drilling and production product and service lines. Together, GE Oil & Gas and Wellstream now offer our customers an unrivalled, value-adding technology and services platform, underpinned by systems integration and reliable innovation.a

Santiago continued, aGE continues to expand its localized presence in Brazil through the addition of Wellstreama™s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Niteri. GE already is a strong and committed player in Brazila™s deepwater oil and gas production sector, and I am confident that we will continue to deliver significant advantage to our customers across Latin America through the many technology and services benefits that this strategic acquisition delivers.a

GE Oil & Gas ([ www.ge.com/oilandgas ]) is a world leader in advanced technology equipment and services for all segments of the oil and gas industry, from drilling and production, LNG, pipelines and storage to industrial power generation, refining and petrochemicals. GE Oil & Gas also provides pipeline integrity solutions, including inspection and data management, and design and manufacture wire-line and drilling measurement solutions for the oilfield services segment. As part of its 'Innovation Now' customer focus and commitment, GE Oil & Gas exploits technological innovation from other GE businesses, such as aviation and healthcare, to continuously improve oil and gas industry performance and productivity. GE Oil & Gas employs more than 12,000 people worldwide and operates in over 100 countries.

GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the worlda™s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at [ www.ge.com ].