Siemens in agreed $7.6 billion deal to buy Dresser-Rand
Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG SIEGn.DE said on Monday it would buy U.S. oilfield equipment maker Dresser-Rand Group Inc DRC.N for $7.6 billion in a move that would significantly boost the German company's oil and gas business in North America.
Germany's Siemens said its $83 per-share bid was unanimously supported by Dresser-Rand's board of directors. That compares with a Friday closing price of $79.91, which already had been bolstered by takeover speculation in the past several days.
In a separate statement, it announced the sale of its 50 percent stake in BSH Bosch und SiemensHausgeraete GmbH to joint venture partner Robert Bosch GmbH for 3 billion euros ($3.85 billion), ending their more than 45 year alliance in household appliances.
"As the premium brand in the global energy infrastructure markets, Dresser-Rand is a perfect fit for the Siemens portfolio. The combined activities will create a world-class provider for the growing oil and gas markets," Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said in a statement on Monday.
The German industrial conglomerate had long coveted Dresser-Rand, which would help it grow its oil and gas business at a time when a North American fracking boom is boosting demand for energy equipment.
But it shrank in the past from making a formal bid, balking at its high valuation. Dresser-Rand trades at 24.6 times 12 month forward earnings, a 60 percent premium to its peers in oil and gas equipment and services, according to Reuters data.
Reuters reported on Sunday that the companies were nearing a deal.
Siemens is targeting more than 150 million euros in annual synergies by 2019 from the transaction, which complements Siemens's market position in turbo compressors, downstream and industrial applications as well as larger-sized steam turbines.
Siemens expects to close the Dresser-Rand deal by summer 2015, while it aims to wrap up the sale of its stake in household appliance venture BSH with Bosch in first half of calendar year 2015.
BSH will pay out 250 million euros to each of its owners Bosch and Siemens before the transaction is completed.
Siemens has trumped a competing offer for Dresser-Rand from Swiss pump maker Sulzer AG SUN.S, which had proposed an all-stock merger, according to people familiar with the matter.
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