China's CSR to buy British underwater robot maker

CHANGSHA - A subsidiary of China's leading train maker CSR said Monday that it had signed a deal to buy the entire share capital of British SMD, one of the world's leading subsea equipment manufacturers.

The deal, worth about 130 million British pounds ($198.08 million), was signed on Feb 5 in Britain between Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co and Specialist Machine Developments (SMD) Ltd. It is still awaiting the approval of the regulatory authority.

This will pave the way for Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric into the high-end subsea equipment sector and will support business in areas such as maritime wind power and engineering, said an official from Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric, which is subordinate to CSR Zhuzhou Institute Co Ltd.

From 2013 to 2017, subsea remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operational expenditure will be about $9.7 billion, according to the forecast of Douglas-Westwood, a leading provider of market research and consultancy services to the energy industry.