10th May 2007 07:05
Balfour Beatty PLC10 May 2007 10 May 2007 BALFOUR BEATTY AGREES THE SALE OF ITS INTEREST IN DEVONPORT MANAGEMENT LTD TO BABCOCK FOR £86 MILLION =================================================== Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, services andinvestment group, announces today that it has agreed to sell its 24.5% interestin Devonport Management Ltd (DML) to Babcock International plc (Babcock) for acash consideration of approximately £86 million. DML was established in 1987 to run Devonport Royal Dockyard, which it thenacquired in 1997. It offers a complete range of design, build and supportsolutions across both the defence and commercial sectors, including nuclearsubmarine refit, refueling and maintenance. Commenting on the transaction today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler,said: "Devonport Management has been a very good investment for Balfour Beatty and weare pleased to have played a part in the success of the enterprise. However,long-term involvement in DML is not core to our strategy and a sale on the termsagreed represents excellent value for our shareholders. This sale places thecombined Babcock and DML businesses in a primary position to achieveconsolidation of UK submarine assets." The profits after tax attributable to the interest disposed of by Balfour Beattyfor the year 2006 were £7.4 million. The gross value attributable to the assetsbeing disposed of by Balfour Beatty was £71 million at 31 December 2006. Thedisposal will lead to an exceptional profit of approximately £50 million inBalfour Beatty's 2007 accounts. The cash proceeds will be used to continue to develop Balfour Beatty's businessin line with its stated strategy. The other shareholders in DML, who are also selling their interests to Babcock,are KBR (51%) and the Weir Group (24.5%). The transaction is conditional uponthe approval of the Ministry of Defence and the shareholders of Babcock. It isanticipated that the transaction will be completed within approximately 60 days. ENDS Enquiries to:Tim SharpTel: 020 7216 6884www.balfourbeatty.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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