National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE: NOV) ("NOV")
and CE Franklin Ltd. (NASDAQ: CFK; TSX: CFT) ("CE Franklin")
announced today that NOV Distribution Services ULC ("NDS"),
a wholly-owned subsidiary of NOV, has completed its previously-announced
acquisition of CE Franklin pursuant to a plan of arrangement. The
arrangement resulted in NDS acquiring all of the issued and outstanding
common shares of CE Franklin for cash consideration of CAD$12.75 per
share.
The arrangement was approved by the shareholders of CE Franklin and by
the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta on July 16, 2012. Articles of
Arrangement have been filed by CE Franklin with the Registrar of
Corporations for the Province of Alberta (pursuant to section 193 of the Business
Corporations Act (Alberta)) and the arrangement became effective
today.
Pursuant to the arrangement, NDS paid an aggregate of approximately
CAD$239 million to acquire CE Franklin. CE Franklin is now a wholly
owned subsidiary of NDS.
The common shares of CE Franklin are expected to be voluntarily delisted
from the TSX and NASDAQ by the end of July 2012.
About CE Franklin
For more than 75 years, CE Franklin has been a leading supplier of
products and services to the energy industry. CE Franklin distributes
pipe, valves, flanges, fittings, production equipment, tubular products
and other general oilfield supplies to oil and gas producers in Canada
as well as to the oil sands, refining, heavy oil, petrochemical,
forestry and mining industries. These products are distributed through
its 39 branches, which are situated in towns and cities serving
particular oil and gas fields of the western Canadian sedimentary basin.
About NOV
National Oilwell Varco is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture
and sale of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and
production operations, the provision of oilfield services, and supply
chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry.
Forward-looking Statements: The information in this news
release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934; within the meaning of Canadian
securities law and other applicable securities legislation. All
statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address
activities, events, outcomes and other matters that CE Franklin plans,
expects, intends, assumes, believes, budgets, predicts, forecasts,
projects, estimates or anticipates (and other similar expressions) will,
should or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based on management’s current belief,
based on currently available information, as to the outcome and timing
of future events. When considering forward-looking statements, you
should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements and
refer to the Form 20-F or our annual information form for further detail.
