Maker of Toyota Lift Trucks Offers to Buy BT Industries of Sweden
4 April 2000
Maker of Toyota Lift Trucks Offers to Buy BT Industries of Sweden; Combined Operations will Create Global Industrial Equipment Leader
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 4 Toyoda Automatic Loom Works,
Ltd. (TAL), makers of Toyota Industrial Equipment products, today announced a
public offer to shareholders of BT Industries AB of Mjolby, Sweden, to
purchase the Swedish manufacturer of material handling equipment. The
acquisition would create a leading full-line producer of material handling
equipment.
TAL will offer 275 Swedish Kroner (approx. US $31.81 based on the exchange
rate as of March 31, 2000) in cash to stockholders for each share of BT. The
offer represents a premium of approximately 39 percent based on the average of
closing prices for the last ten days prior to announcement of the offer. The
total offer is valued at approximately SEK 7.7 billion or approximately US
$890 million.
The board of directors of BT Industries has unanimously decided to
recommend the shareholders to accept the offer. According to TAL, Nordico
Invest and Bank of America Equity Partners, together representing
approximately 25 percent of the shares in BT, have unconditionally agreed to
accept the offer.
BT Industries manufactures material handling equipment and complete
warehousing systems. BT products are sold under the Raymond and BT
Prime-Mover brand names in North America. BT Industries is listed on the
Stockholm Stock Exchange.
TAL, headquartered in Kariya, Japan, manufactures Toyota lift trucks, tow
vehicles and other material handling equipment. TAL is listed on the Tokyo,
Nagoya and Osaka stock exchanges.
Toyota brand lift trucks and material handling equipment are distributed
in the U.S. through 83 dealers by Toyota Industrial Equipment (TIE), a
division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, headquartered in Torrance, Calif.
Toyota's and BT Raymond's product lines and customer bases are essentially
complementary.
As a result of the acquisition, TAL will become a full-line supplier,
realizing greater efficiencies, higher service levels, more flexible
production and maximizing the potential of two highly respected brands.
Although future market strategies have not been determined, TAL intends to
keep current U.S. brand names and sales channels to TIE and BT Raymond as they
are.
"BT Industries can provide us with warehouse equipment products and
enable us to expand our product offering in Europe and North America," said
Tadashi Ishikawa, president and CEO of TAL. "We believe that a combination
with BT Industries provides the perfect strategic step for our business and
that the increased product range in the forklift business will create greater
value for all stakeholders of our business, including shareholders."
In accepting the offer, BT Industries Chairman of the Board Leif Ostling
commented, "We think that a combination of BT Industries and TAL is
industrially sound and the price offered to BT Industries' shareholders is
fair. The board of directors therefore decided to recommend BT shareholders
to accept the offer."
BT is a leading supplier of material handling equipment and solutions,
specializing in Class II (electric narrow aisle) and Class III
(electric walkie/riders) forklift equipment. BT products and services are
marketed in 60 countries. North American production facilities are located in
Greene, N.Y., Muscatine, Iowa and Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
BT had net sales of SEK 9.8 billion ($1.12 billion) and net income of SEK
431 million ($49.8 million) in 1999. Approximately half of the company's
gross income is generated from after-sales service parts and rentals. BT
employs approximately 7,054 worldwide and has a market capitalization of
approximately SEK 5.6 billion ($ 647 million).
"Raymond achieved a dominant position in our market place," said James T.
Malvaso, president and chief executive officer of BT Raymond. "This is due to
our excellent people, product, factories and distribution. Our world class
stature is a major reason Toyota sees the BT acquisition as strategically
important. Plans are to leverage our capabilities enabling the new combined
entity to continue its pace of growth. I remain confident that the strength
of the BT Raymond position in North America is being recognized and we will
yet again capitalize on the merger," he added.
TAL's business operations include textile machinery, car air conditioning
compressors, automotive assembly, diesel and gasoline engines, foundry parts,
semiconductors and industrial equipment. TAL's previous fiscal year net sales
were 559 billion Yen ($5.2 billion) with net income of approximately 10
billion Yen ($92 million). The company has a market capitalization of
approximately 586 billion Yen ($5.5 billion).
Toyota is a leading brand of material handling equipment world-wide. TIE
offers a range of products in Class I (electric rider trucks), Class IV
(internal combustion cushion tire forklifts) and Class V (internal combustion
pneumatic tire forklifts). TIE also distributes Class II and III products
manufactured for it by BT Raymond under the Toyota brand name. Toyota
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing, a TAL subsidiary in Columbus, Ind., builds
more than 90 percent of TIE products sold in North America.
"Toyota has never been more committed to the U.S. lift truck business,"
said Dr. Shankar Basu, group vice president and general manager, Toyota
Industrial Equipment. "By combining two of the most respected names in the
industrial equipment industry, our dealers and customers will be assured of
comprehensive product lines to meet their changing needs."