FRANKFURT--Renova, a holding company of Russian oligarch Victor
Vekselberg, on Friday said it has bought a 4.99% stake in U.S.
oil-industry equipment firm Dresser-Rand Group Inc (DRC).
The announcement adds a twist to speculation on the future of
Dresser-Rand. Mr. Vekselberg's Renova also holds a 33.19% stake in
Swiss pump maker Sulzer AG (SULZF), which earlier said this week it
was in non-exclusive talks with the U.S. company about a potential
transaction.
At the same time, German conglomerate Siemens AG (SIEGY)is
preparing a multi billion-dollar offer for Dresser-Rand, people
familiar with the matter said on Friday.
A Siemens offer of more than $6 billion, or more than $80 dollar
per share, could be more attractive to Dresser-Rand than an offer
from Sulzer, the people said.
Siemens declined to comment.
Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
