General Electric Co. (GE) said it agreed to buy Vetco Gray, oil services company for $1.9 billion from private equity funds Candover Partners Ltd., 3i Group PLC & JP Morgan Partners LLC, according to Reuters.
In a statement, GE declared that the transaction is expected to be finalized in early 2007, after governmental and regulatory approval.
“This acquisition enables GE to seize faster growth in a rapidly expanding global business,” said Claudi Santiago, chief executive of GE Oil & Gas. “Vetco Gray expands the portfolio of products, services and solutions available to one of the world’s most dynamic industries.”
The list of services provided by Vetco Gray includes drilling, completion and production equipment for on- and offshore oil and gas fields. The company, which generated over $1.6 billion of sales in 2006, has 5,000 employees in more than 30 countries with key centers in Houston, Britain, Norway and Singapore.

(Reuters, AP & MSNBC)