National Oilwell to buy Baylor Co.

Aug. 2, 2000
National Oilwell Inc. has signed a letter of intent to buy Baylor Co. and its subsidiaries from Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. for a yet-undetermined price, officials said Tuesday.


National Oilwell Inc. has signed a letter of intent to buy Baylor Co. and its subsidiaries from Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. for a yet-undetermined price, officials said Tuesday. However, officials put the value of that proposed acquisition in the range of $20-30 million.

Baylor is a global leader in the design and manufacture of braking systems and large synchronous generators used on drilling rigs that would be complementary additions to National Oilwell's rig business.

National Oilwell�a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of comprehensive systems and components used in oil and gas drilling and production�hopes to consummate the deal by the end of September, pending completion of due diligence, negotiation of a definitive agreement, and receipt of customary approvals.

Established in 1954, Baylor is a pioneer in the drilling, marine, and power generation industries. It was privately held when Boots & Coots acquired it in 1998.

The sale will allow Boots & Coots to complete its financial restructuring in order to focus and expand the core business of wild well control, risk management, and high-risk services on which it has built an international reputation.

At the center of Boots & Coots' strategy of accident prevention, response, and restoration is its proprietary Wellsure program that offers through retail insurance brokers a combination of traditional well control and blowout insurance with preventive services and post-event response. Boots & Coots initiated that program in 1998 in an alliance with Global Special Risks Inc., a wholesale Insurance broker.

In other business Monday, National Oilwell reported a second quarter loss of $9.5 million (12�/share) on revenue of $207.3 million, including one-time expenses of $13 million for its acquisition of IRI International Inc., completed June 28. That compared with a loss of $12 million (17�/share) on revenues of $195 million during the same period in 1999.