Reason #435 Why I Love To Blog -- September 20, 2014; GE, Dresser-Rand, and Siemens

Updates

November 19, 2017: Minnesota pushes back on wind; GE, Siemens, and Vestas all doing poorly, due to wind energy; and US considering ending wind subsidies in new tax bill. 

December 12, 2015: new GE facility north of Williston, Oppidan, developer. 

September 23, 2014: Siemens lost a decade to GE by focusing on renewable energy in Germany.

September 22, 2014: much more detail regarding the Siemens-Dresser-Rand deal over at Rigzone:

Germany's Siemens has agreed to buy U.S. oilfield equipment maker Dresser-Rand for $7.6 billion in cash, aiming to catch up with arch-rival General Electric in a booming U.S. shale gas market.

The acquisition, which ranks among the biggest in the history of the German industrial group, will strengthen Siemens' position in the United States, its weakest region, and focus the group more tightly on its industrial customers.

Siemens embarked on a corporate overhaul in May dubbed "Vision 2020", seeking to make up ground on more profitable competitors such as Switzerland's ABB as well as U.S-based General Electric (GE), while reducing its exposure to more cyclical consumer businesses where it has had limited success.

A booming U.S. shale gas market has driven a surge in investment by energy companies, creating demand for the compressors and turbines made by companies such as Dresser-Rand.

Annual capital expenditure on oil, gas and coal has more than doubled in real terms since 2000 and surpassed $950 billion in 2013, according to the International Energy Agency.

The Dresser-Rand deal will eclipse Siemens' acquisitions of recent years. It bought Dade Behring for $7 billion in 2007 under Kaeser's predecessor Peter Loescher - now the chairman of Sulzer - in a deal that was widely criticised as overpriced.

Siemens filled another gap in its energy equipment portfolio earlier this year, buying small gas-turbine assets from Rolls-Royce for 950 million euros. CEO Kaeser indicated at the time that expansion in the United States was next on the agenda.  

September 21, 2014: It looks like GE lost this one. It looks like Siemens will buy Dresser-Rand for $7.6 billion an an all-cash deal. Regardless of who bought Dresser-Rand, I saw this as a huge deal for the fossil fuel industry. I always equated Siemens with wind energy -- looks like they've seen the light also: a) Europe is a drag on their profits (so they are coming to the US); b) the future is in fossil fuel, not renewables.

September 21, 2014: wow, that's incredible. I have taken photographs (and a video) of the very, very small GE facility in Williston located about a block east of the "Million Dollar Way" (2 & 85) north of Williston. This is the link, again, of the new GE facility proposed for Williston (see comments below): http://oppidan.com/properties/industrialwarehouse/general-electric-williston-nd. That really is quite incredible.
 

Original Post

I've talked about GE relative to fossil fuel vs renewable energy in the past, mostly as sarcasm with regard to the GE CEO being the president's first economic adviser. A reader sent me the link to this story which continues the theme. Investor's Business Daily is reporting:

GE reportedly held talks with Dresser-Rand for a possible takeover and could spark another bidding war with European rival Siemens.

The U.S. conglomerate hasn't made an official offer for the the oil and gas equipment maker, according to the Financial Times, but is weighing a bid that would value the company at over $80 per share.

GE shares were flat on the stock market in after hours trading Friday but Dresser-Rand shares jumped 3.3% to 82.55 after closing up 9%.

GE has been shedding media and financial assets to focus on expanding its industrial segments, including its oil and gas business. Last year, it completed a $3.3 billion deal for oilfield pump maker Lufkin Industries.

Earlier Friday, the Financial Times and Bloomberg said Siemens was considering a bid for Dresser-Rand, with sources telling Bloomberg the deal was valued at $85 per share.

This is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here. I post these stories to help put the Bakken into perspective.