GE announced it has acquired Wellstream Holdings Plc, taking control of the London Stock Exchange listed firm’s operations in Niterói, Brazil. GE, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, General Electric Austria GMBH, received valid acceptances for 98.63 per cent of Wellstream’s Shares.

GE had earlier announced on February 16, 2011, that it had commenced the compulsory acquisition of Wellstream’s Shares from shareholders who have not yet accepted its offer, which it expects to complete on or about March 30, 2011. The acquisition of Wellstream expands GE Oil & Gas’ 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 Niterói, Brazil, specializes in the engineering and manufacture of high-quality flexible risers and flow line products for oil and gas transportation in the subsea production industry.

The $1.3 billion 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 Wellstream’s people, technology and customer relationships, including those in Brazil, are an excellent addition to the GE Oil & Gas subsea portfolio, complementing the firm’s existing drilling and production product and service lines. Together, GE Oil & Gas and Wellstream now offer their customers an unrivalled, value-adding technology and services platform, underpinned by systems integration and reliable innovation, he said.

Santiago further stated that the strategic acquisition of Wellstream expands GE’s localized presence in Brazil through the addition of Wellstream’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Niterói. With its existing strong commitment in Brazil’s deepwater oil and gas production sector, GE will continue to deliver significant advantage to its customers across Latin America through the many technology and services benefits that this strategic acquisition delivers, said Santiago.

GE Oil & Gas 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.

GE is an advanced technology, services and finance and operates in more than 100 countries, employing about 300,000 people worldwide.

11th March 2011