Norway's Kvaerner Sells Civil Engineering Arm

ByBridgeNews Norwegian oil and gas, construction and engineering company Kvaerner has sold its building and civil engineering activities to Sweden's Skanska for 4.7 billion Norwegian kroner (US$525 million), including 2.3 billion cash (US$257 million). The price includes Kvaerner's 50% stake in Hong Kong-based Gammon Construction; all of the UK and international activities that are currently organized in Kvaerner's Construction business area are included in the sale. These businesses have an annual turnover of approximately 13 billion kroner (US$1.45 billion) and employ some 7,000 people, excluding Gammon. Christian Bjelland, Kvaerner's chairman, said: "This sale represents the next step in the transformation of Kvaerner into one of the world's leading international technology providers. It is an attractive deal for Kvaerner and its shareholders and it will provide us with enhanced financial flexibility to pursue our growth strategies." Kvaerner's President & CEO, Kjell Almskog, said: "The future activities of the group will center on oil and gas and industrial process technology." It is expected the sale will be completed by early October this year, following a 30-day due diligence period. Kvaerner is a Norwegian registered business with its headquarters in London.