KKR buys controlling stake in Acteon Group

Melbourne: KKR & Co., the private equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, acquired a majority stake in oilfield services company Acteon Group Ltd. from First Reserve Corp., according to a statement from the company.

White Deer Management LLC will invest in the company alongside KKR, Norwich, UK-based Acteon said, without disclosing any financial details. Acteon’s management will remain in place, according to the statement. Acteon specialises in so-called subsea services for oil-drilling, including seabed surveying, according to its website.

The transaction values Acteon’s equity and debt at between £800 million ($1.3 billion) and £900 million, according to the Financial Times which reported the transaction earlier today, citing a person with knowledge of the deal. The buyout fund acquired 52 per cent of Acteon in 2006 for £70 million, the newspaper said.

KKR, the most active acquirer globally during the buyout boom from 2005 to 2007, agreed last November to buy most of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Samson Investment Co., a family-owned oil and natural-gas producer, for $7.2 billion. Acteon has oil field operations in the North Sea, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.