Acquisition

Bodycote International PLC
23 August 2000


For further information, please contact:

John Chesworth, Managing Director
Bodycote International plc             Tel:  [phone]


                            Bodycote International

Bodycote International plc, the international metallurgical services group,
announces two acquisitions. Costing a total of £2.3m, the new businesses are
located in North America and Sweden. Together, the acquisitions reported
combined turnover and operating profit of £3.5m and £0.5m respectively in
their last full year.

T&D Heat Treatment Inc., of Cadillac Michigan provides continuous and batch
heat treating services, primarily within the automotive market in Greater
Michigan. The consideration for this purchase was £953,000 (US$1.4m), paid in
cash. T&D's revenue for the year ended 31 December 1999 was £1.7m (US$2.5m)
generating £201,000 (US$300,000) in operating profit. The net assets acquired
are £451,000 (US$675,000).

This acquisition complements Bodycote's existing Michigan locations in Grand
Rapids and Canton, broadening the group's heat treating services and expertise
in the Great Lakes and Midwest markets.

Nikro-Galvano is a Swedish coating company, based in Gothenburg. The purchase
price is £1.1m (15.3m SEK). In 1999, the company reported sales of £1.8m
(21.2m SEK) and operating profit of £0.4m (5.6m SEK). Net assets acquired,
including 72% of untaxed reserves, are £425,000 (5.0m SEK). Nikro-Galvano's
main markets are telecommunications and electronics within the Nordic region,
supplying customers like Ericsson and Hasselblad with component services.



Notes for Editors

Bodycote International is the world's leading supplier of metallurgical
services to industry. It has operations in 19 countries spanning the UK, North
America and Continental Europe.

In the six months to June 2000, the group reported pre-tax profits of £40m
(£40.8m), EPS of 11.2p (11.2p) and announced an interim dividend of 2.15p
(1.95p).