Neos said April 29 it entered an agreement with CGG SA (NYSE: CGG) to acquire its multi-physics group, transforming the San Francisco company into a "world leader" in the detection of natural resources.

The acquisition, which value wasn't disclosed, also included Paris-based CGG's general geophysics Italy group and data libraries.

With the deal, Neos will be gaining: non-seismic airborne acquisition systems for measuring magnetic, electromagnetic, radiometric and gravity gradiometry data; marine magnetic and gravity data acquisition systems and associated processing and interpretation; and specialized gravity, magnetic and electromagnetic processing and modeling software.

Acquired assets will include:

  • A fleet of 16 geophysical acquisition aircraft with service centers located in Canada, Australia, South Africa and Brazil;
  • Six airborne gravity fradiometry systems, including state-of-the-art FALCON Plus systems manufactured by Lockheed Martin;
  • CGG's library of 14 million line km of aeromagnetic data and 2 million stations of land gravity data worldwide; and
  • A team of 270 highly talented personnel located in Toronto, Ottawa, Houston, Milan, Johannesburg, Rio and Perth.

The combined company will be run by Neos CEO Jim Hollis, the release said.

The transaction is subject to the customary regulatory reviews and approvals is expected to be completed by the summer. The commercial terms of the transaction remain confidential.

Neos is a privately-owned company specialized in high-definition interpretation of subsurface data. The company helps governments, energy ministries and exploration teams in the natural resources industries make faster, more informed decisions about where to explore, lease and drill.