General Electric To Buy Drilling Equipment Maker
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General Electric Co. agreed to buy drilling-equipment maker Vetco Gray Inc. for $1.9 billion as dwindling oil and gas reserves prompt energy companies to boost investment in opening new fields.
GE will add 5,000 employees in more than 30 countries, including plants in Scotland, Brazil, and Singapore, by acquiring Houston-based Vetco from 3i Group Plc, JPMorgan Partners LLC and Candover Investments Plc, the companies said yesterday.
Buying Vetco will swell sales at GE’s oil and gas unit by $1.6 billion, or 36%, as Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt seeks to capitalize on growing demand for petroleum and natural gas exploration. Governments and companies may spend $20 trillion through 2030 for power plants and transmission, biofuels and exploration, the International Energy Agency said November 7.
