LONDON â€" The French oil and gas services company CGGVeritas agreed on Monday to buy the seismic data unit of the Dutch engineering company Fugro for 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion).
CGGVeritas, based in Paris, said the deal would expand the company's access to oil and gas sites in Australia and Western Europe. Fugro's seismic data division uses ships to locate potential new areas of natural resources.
The French company said it would fund the acquisition through a rights offering and bank debt.
The acquisition ‘‘perfectly fits our strategy, significantly increasing our integrated geology and geophysics, reservoir characterization and development capabilities,'' CGGVeritas' chief executive, Jean-Georges Malcor, said in a statement.
Shares in CGGVeritas fell 7.2 percent in morning trading in Paris, while stock in Fugro rose 3.7 percent in Amsterdam.
The combined company's revenue would have totaled $4.2 billion in 2011, with a pretax prof it of $1 billion, according to a CGGVeritas statement.
CGGVeritas and Fugro also announced a joint venture in seabed geophysics, which will allow the firms to monitor underwater oil and gas activity.
Fugro will pay CGGVeritas 225 million euros for a 60 percent stake in the joint venture, which is expected to report 400 million of revenues in its first year of operations.
The deal for Fugro's seismic division is expected to close by the end of the year.
Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch advised CGGVeritas on the deal.
