Wärtsilä Corporation, the Finnish engineering group, says it has reached agreement with the Board of Hamworthy plc , a UK listed engineering company focussed on the marine and oil and gas sectors, in regards to a recommended cash offer for the acquisition of Hamworthy.
Under the terms of the acquisition Hamworthy shareholders will receive 825 pence in cash for each Hamworthy share valuing Hamworthy's entire issued and to be issued share capital at approximately GBP 383 million. This represents an EV / LTM EBITDA multiple of 14.3x as per 30 September 2011. The acquisition is conditional on the approval by the shareholders of Hamworthy. The acquisition is expected to be closed during the first quarter in 2012. The acquisition is subject to relevant regulatory approvals in Germany and Norway.
Wärtsilä will hold a press conference today at 11:00 EET (9:00 UK time) in Helsinki, Finland. The press conference can be participated via webcast and teleconference. Please find details at the end of the release. Combining Hamworthy and Wärtsilä will allow both organisations to broaden and enhance their capabilities in rapidly evolving offshore, marine gas applications as well as environmental solutions markets. Both Hamworthy and Wärtsilä will benefit from technology sharing and optimised R&D to enhance position for the global marine and offshore markets.
Wärtsilä has a global footprint with operations in 70 countries across the world and significant financial scale, which will allow it to expand the geographic and customer reach of Hamworthy's products. Wärtsilä's extensive services network will support Hamworthy in its after sales activities.
Björn Rosengren, CEO, Wärtsilä Corporation, commenting on the acquisition, said: "We believe strongly in marine gas markets and the opportunities in the rapidly evolving environmental markets. Combining our resources with Hamworthy, we will be able to offer customers a broader portfolio of economically efficient, reliable and environmentally sustainable products and systems. We recognise the success achieved to date by Hamworthy and we are confident that our global presence, scale and resources will enable Hamworthy to accelerate its growth and exploit its full potential, particularly in the early stage environmentally sustainable technologies. We look forward to working with the management and employees of Hamworthy to combine our expertise and experience for the benefit of our customers around the globe as well as for the benefit of our shareholders."
