German multinational engineering conglomerate Siemens AG announced late Sunday it would acquire the Dresser-Rand Group, a Houston-based maker of compressors, steam turbines, gas turbines and engines for the oil and gas industry, in an all-cash deal worth $7.6 billion.
Siemens said it would pay $83 per share of Dresser-Rand. While that price tag struck some observers as too high, The New York Times noted that Siemens is looking to its future, using Dresser-Rand as a way to strengthen its ability to capitalize on unconventional drilling techniques such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
