National Oilwell Varco LP filed suit against rival Auto-Dril Inc. for allegedly infringing a patent related to automatic drilling systems for oil and gas exploration.
National Oilwell Varco acquired ASEP Group Holding B.V. (ASEP) and Anson Limited (Anson). ASEP is a well service equipment manufacturer in the Netherlands. ASEP has an international presence and will help NOV expand sales to international markets. Anson is a U.K.-based pump manufacturer. The acquisition of Anson will further extend NOV's reach to international markets.
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) was upgraded by RBC Capital Markets from Sector Perform to Outperform. The stock is up 11.13% on volume of 6,799,818 shares traded.
From Nov 11 to Nov 22, 2008, the spot price of crude oil fell 20.5% to $49.62.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Grant Prideco is now a wholly owned subsidiary of National Oilwell Varco.
Recession fears send the market down - energy companies are particularly hard hit because recessions typically lead to lower oil prices
NOV agrees to pay almost $7.5 billion for Grant Prideco, creating an oilfield services company with a market cap of $32 billion. Shares fall as investors are skeptical about the gains to be made from acquiring a drill pipe leader.
