London (CNN Business) Harland and Wolff, the Northern Ireland shipyard that built the Titanic, has been rescued from bankruptcy.

A UK energy company, InfraStrata, said Tuesday that it had agreed to buy the 158-year old Belfast shipyard and its assets for £6 million ($7.3 million).

All 79 employees who had not opted to voluntarily leave their jobs would be retained, InfraStrata said in a statement, adding that it planned to create "several hundred" new jobs over the next five years.

The announcement marks a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of Harland and Wolff, which was placed into administration by the UK government in August after failure to secure a bridge loan pushed the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

The shipyard, which completed the Titanic in 1912, has not built a ship since 2003 when it built two ferries. Asian manufacturers now dominate cargo shipbuilding, while the business of building luxury cruise ships is dominated by European companies.

Read More