Invensys Sells Westinghouse Brakes to Knorr-Bremse
25 April 2000
Invensys Sells Westinghouse Brakes to Knorr-Bremse
LONDON--April 25, 2000--Invensys plc announces today the sales of its Westinghouse Brakes businesses to Knorr-Bremse for an aggregate cash consideration of (pound)65 million.For the six months ended September 30, 1999, Westinghouse Brakes had sales of (pound)27 million and profit before interest and taxation of (pound)4 million. Net operating assets, which are the subject of the transaction, are approximately (pound)20 million, before goodwill previously written off amounting to (pound)11 million. Its operating results and assets were reported as part of ongoing operations in the 1998/99 fiscal year and in the 1999/2000 interim results.
Allen Yurko, Chief Executive of Invensys plc, said:
"We are committed to building our Rail Systems business, and more specifically will focus on signalling and control systems where Invensys is a leading supplier. We believe growth prospects are good in these areas and we will continue to identify strategic acquisitions.
Westinghouse Brakes is not considered to be core to our rail automation strategy. However, its businesses in the UK and Australia complement Knorr-Bremse's international operations. We believe that Westinghouse Brakes will flourish with its new owner."
Westinghouse Brakes is a supplier of metro and passenger rail brake systems, primarily to the UK and Asian markets and freight rail brake products to the Australian and New Zealand market. It is also a supplier of platform screen doors for metropolitan rail systems. It is headquartered in Chippenham (UK) and Sydney (Australia) and employs over 600 people.
The Knorr-Bremse Group is an international supplier of rail braking systems and commercial vehicle air brakes. Headquartered in Munich with over 8,000 employees worldwide, the group had sales of DM2.5 billion in 1999.
Invensys plc is a global leader in the Automation and Controls industry. With its head office in London, England it operates in all regions of the world through four focused divisions - Intelligent Automation, Industrial Drive Systems, Power Systems and Controls. With over 100,000 employees, the company's products and services range from advanced control systems and networks for automating industrial plants and controlling the environments of buildings, to electronic devices and controls found in residential buildings and light commercial applications, plus complete power systems for the telecommunications and information technology industries. The Group was formed on February 4, 1999 through the merger of BTR plc and Siebe plc.