6th Mar 2006 07:02
IMI PLC06 March 2006 6 March 2006 IMI plc IMI announces £113m acquisition in Fluid Controls IMI plc, the major international engineering group, has agreed to acquire theTruflo Group, a leading specialist in valves and related flow control products,for an enterprise value of £113m. The Truflo Group serves a number of niche market sectors including oil and gas,nuclear, petrochemical and marine applications. Truflo has manufacturing plantsand other facilities in the UK, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and Canada.Approximately 500 employees, including operational management, will betransferring with the business. The majority of Truflo will become part of IMI's Severe Service business, whichis a leading global provider of engineered valve solutions for criticalprocessing plant. The balance, which includes specialist pressure regulator andcontrol systems (approximately 15% by turnover), will become part of IMI's FluidPower business, which has complementary operations. In 2005 Truflo Group had sales of £66m and underlying operating profit of£12.8m. The value of operating assets to be acquired is approximately £16m. IMI has agreed to acquire Truflo from the Alchemy Investment Plan and others fora cash consideration of £120m payable on completion, with Truflo having net cashof approximately £7m at 31 January 2006, representing an enterprise value of£113m. The consideration will be funded out of IMI's existing resources andbanking facilities. Completion is subject to regulatory clearances which areexpected to be received within two months. Martin Lamb, IMI's Chief Executive, commented: "We have followed the fortunes of Truflo for some considerable time and aredelighted to have made this acquisition. Truflo's activities in oil & gas andpower sectors are complementary to our own, and their involvement in thepetrochemical and marine sectors opens up a number of new opportunities for thecombined business. They have an extensive installed base, a number ofmarket-leading brands, good technology, and some great customer relationships.The sharing of market intelligence, manufacturing capacity and a combinedaftermarket service infrastructure should deliver numerous opportunities forgrowth. - Ends - IMI plcGraham Truscott, Communications Director Tel: 0121 717 3712 Weber Shandwick Square MileNick Oborne / Stephanie Badjonat Tel: 020 7067 0700 Note to editors: IMI plc is an international engineering business specialising in innovativesolutions and services for a wide range of industrial and retail customers. Itsfuture growth is being built on the two business areas of Fluid Controls (SevereService, Fluid Power, Indoor Climate) and Retail Dispense (Beverage Dispense,Merchandising Systems). IMI's operations in these two business areas share the following corecharacteristics: strong market positions in growing markets; the ability to beclearly differentiated from their competitors through technological innovationor after-sales service; and the provision of 'added value' through bespokesolutions rather than a high manufacturing or material content. IMI is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and is capitalised at approximately£1.8bn. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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