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[July 2000]
Acquisition of Acme Marls Limited
J & J Dyson plc ("Dyson"), the performance materials and thermal technologies group, has acquired the entire issued share capital of Acme Marls Limited ("Acme Marls"), a privately owned kiln furniture company for a total consideration of £1.89 million, of which £1.64 million is payable in cash on completion and the balance of the consideration has been satisfied by issue of unsecured loan notes to the vendors.
The book value of the assets acquired at completion is £0.2 million. Acme Marls' turnover in the year ended 31 October 1999 was £5.0 million and generated losses before interest and tax of £195,000. The business will be developed as the premier manufacturer of kiln furniture in the UK and will report as part of Dyson's Thermal Technologies division. It is anticipated that the kiln furniture operations of Dyson, as enlarged by this acquisition and the recent purchase of the Hewitt's business, will be able to achieve substantial reductions in overheads through site rationalisation and combined production control.
Acme Marls manufactures consumable, hot application components for the global ceramics industry and, like the Hewitt's kiln furniture business that was acquired by Dyson on 12 May 2000, it has a strong market position in the USA and Far East. Such components are subject to extreme thermal shock in use and technical development is ongoing throughout the industry to manufacture from more advanced materials, thus enhancing the performance of the products. Mike O'Brien, Chief Executive of Dyson, said: "We believe that Acme Marls' reputation and expertise combined with Dyson's existing kiln furniture operations will rapidly enable the enlarged group to become a leading force in the global ceramics industry."
For further information on J & J Dyson Plc go to: www.dyson-group.com
ENDS