With the Acquisition of TH Hill, Bureau Veritas Takes a Leading Role in Quality Assurance Services for Drilling Systems

HOUSTON, March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bureau Veritas announces it has signed an agreement to acquire TH Hill, a worldwide leader in oil & gas drilling failure prevention and analysis services. The transaction is expected to be completed in April, upon clearance by the relevant authorities.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, TH Hill offers quality assurance, engineering and training services to minimize the risk of structural and mechanical failure of both onshore and offshore drilling equipment. TH Hill also develops unique standards including DS-1®, a global standard for drill string design, manufacture, operation and inspection and STC-1 for the certification of drilling specialty tools. TH Hill operates in more than 50 countries and has offices in Canada and Brazil. It has over 250 employees and reported gross revenue of approximately $47 million in 2011.

Pedro Guimaraes, Bureau Veritas' Executive Vice President, Industry & Facilities, The Americas, stated:

"The addition of TH Hill to the Bureau Veritas organization has provided a unique opportunity to further expand our conformity assessment and quality assurance services to the oil & gas industry.  TH Hill's highly-experienced and proven drilling failure prevention management team adds industry-leading expertise in drilling failure prevention and analysis to Bureau Veritas' vast pool of professionals and technical resources.  The acquisition of TH Hill, in addition to the recent addition of AcmeLabs in Canada, shows Bureau Veritas' commitment to continually growing our value proposition for clients through the North American and global markets."

Shawn Altizer, TH Hill, Inc., Chief Executive Officer stated:

"All of us at TH Hill are excited to be joining a global leader in the oil & gas conformity assessment market.  Bureau Veritas provides great opportunities for TH Hill and our employees, and our clients will benefit from the Bureau Veritas global network and the broad array of technical services that we can offer with our expanded platform."

Following this acquisition, Bureau Veritas will have 3,300 employees in the United States.

About Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas is a world leader in conformity assessment and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has more than 52,000 employees in 940 offices and 340 laboratories located in 140 countries. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performances by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

Bureau Veritas is listed on the Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 (Compartment A, code ISIN FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI). www.bureauveritas.com

SOURCE Bureau Veritas