SOLD In Billion Dollar Deal |
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Cone Drive Operations, Inc.
240 E. Twelfth St., P.O. Box 272
Traverse City, MI, 49685
USA
Press release date: November 14, 2008
Cone Drive, Benzlers (www.benzlers.com) and David Brown (www.davidbrown.com) are pleased to announce that the companies have recently been sold in a deal worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
The companies are now owned by Scottish-based Clyde Blowers and the deal sees Clyde Blowers buy four separate Textron businesses.
Along with David Brown Gear Systems (which incorporates Benzlers, Cone Drive and David Brown), Clyde Blowers has bought US-based Union Pumps, David Brown Hydraulics, based in the UK, and Maag Pumps, based in Switzerland. Together, they employ more than 2,230 people.
Following the takeover, Clyde Blowers, based at East Kilbride Scotland, will have just under 5,000 employees worldwide and annual turnover of £1.2bn.
Jim McColl, owner of Clyde Blowers, said: "This is a very substantial deal for a British company. I believe it is a great boost for British business.
"At a time when the news is all about foreign businesses coming to the UK and buying our biggest companies, here is a story of a British company having the clout to buy an entire division from a global company ranked high in the American Fortune 500."
He added: "It is a testament to the growing strength of Clyde Blowers as a global company in our own right that we have been able to pull together such a deal at this time.
"Each of the acquired businesses has its own top quality management team. We look forward to working with our new colleagues to help them realise the tremendous potential in all of these businesses."
The deal, which Mr McColl said "took a bit of time" to put together, was partly funded by four major banks - Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Additional funding came from Clyde Blowers Capital Fund ll, a private equity fund set up by Clyde Blowers to provide finance for this deal and future acquisitions. SCF Partners, a Houston-based private equity outfit, also provided equity for the deal.
Following the deal, three of the four companies bought by Clyde Blowers - David Brown Gears, Maag Pumps and David Brown Hydraulics - will be separate companies within the Clyde Blowers group, each with its own management structure.
Union Pumps will merge with Clyde Pumps, formed by Mr McColl after his purchase of Weir Pumps from Glasgow-based Weir Group in May 2007.
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