Houston, April 29, 1999
Weatherford International, Inc. (NYSE: WFT) announced today that its Grant Prideco division has entered into an agreement to acquire a 50 percent interest in the Voest-Alpine Kindberg ("VA") subsidiary of Voest Alpine Stahl AG for approximately $30 million. Grant Prideco is a leading producer of drill stem products, engineered connections and premium tubulars for the oil and gas industry. VA is a specialty manufacturer of high quality seamless Oil Country Tubular Goods ("OCTG"). VA produces seamless tubulars of either high carbon grade or 13% chrome stainless quality. Its manufacturing is known to deliver consistently very high tolerances. VA's products have historically been used in the Middle East and FSU. Grant Prideco's manufacturing processes require as feedstock green tubing and casing of the type and tolerances manufactured by VA.
VA owns and operates an OCTG mill in Kindberg (Austria). The Kindberg mill has a capacity of 320,000 tonnes using over 4 million square feet of equipment. Built in 1982, the plant completed an extensive modernization in 1998. Kindberg, together with its working capital, account for essentially all of VA's assets. VA has no debt.
Weatherford Chairman and CEO, Bernard J. Duroc-Danner commented, "The Voest Alpine Kindberg mill is a state-of-the-art facility, known for its high quality and exacting tolerances. The ownership interest provides Grant Prideco with reliable high quality supplies of raw materials and a window to new markets in the Eastern Hemisphere."
Houston-based Weatherford International, Inc. is one of the largest global providers of engineered products and services to the drilling and production segments of the oil and gas industry. Grant Prideco, a division of Weatherford, is the number one supplier of drill stem technology worldwide and North America's leader in providing engineered connections and premium tubulars.
Voest Alpine Stahl AG is a major industrial conglomerate headquartered in Linz and is traded on the Austrian Stock Exchange (ATX).
Contacts:
Don Galletly 713-693-4148
Christine McGee 713-693-4362
Weatherford International, Inc.
515 Post Oak Blvd, Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77027
713-693-4000