Austrian high-precision oilfield components manufacturer Schoeller- Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment announced it has bought Dubai-based Drilling Systems International (DSI).
"We are taking over the world market leader in a niche of the oilfield service industry," Gernot Bauer, the company's head of investor relations, told Gulf News.
"It is fitting perfectly into our company portfolio," he said. "There are also significant synergies between DIS and our drilling engine subsidiary."
Neither company has revealed the takeover price. DSI was founded by a Canadian businessman and is based in Dubai to serve the large oil exploration companies in the region and beyond.
"The Middle East is the biggest market for DSI, and we will retain the headquarters in Dubai," said Bauer. DSI currently has revenues of US$30mn and employs 50 staff.
Bauer said the company is planning to aggressively expand to the Far East. But the Middle East currently remains the firm's biggest market.
DSI has a world market share of up to 80 per cent in the field of specialised equipment for 'downhole circulation technology' for oil and gas wells, a niche Schoeller-Bleckmann currently does not cover with its product portfolio.
Schoeller-Bleckmann, founded 1924 in Austria, is the world market leader in its sector of high-precision oil exploration components. The company currently employs 1,135 staff worldwide in 24 wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe, North America, the UAE, Singapore, Russia, Brazil and Vietnam. The company is listed on the Vienna stock exchange and had sales revenue of more than US$345mn in 2009.
