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GE to buy UK oilfield firm Wellstream for $1.3 billion


    BANGALORE (Reuters) - General Electric Co said on Monday it would buy British oilfield services company Wellstream Holdings Plc for about 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion), in a deal that would expand the U.S. conglomerate's subsea equipment and services portfolio.

    GE said as per the deal, Wellstream shareholders would receive 780 pence in cash and a special dividend of 6p per Wellstream share.

    Shares of Wellstream closed at 747p on Friday on the London Stock Exchange.

    The deal will also help enhance GE's ability to capitalize on growth in Brazil, Africa and Asia, the company said in a statement.

    The Wellstream deal will further extend GE's reach into the floating production, storage and offloading offshore segment, the company said.

    Wellstream reported a sales backlog of 250 million pounds ($398 million) as of November 16, GE said.

    (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by David Holmes)