Acquisition

Halma PLC
14 May 2004



                              Halma p.l.c. ('Halma')

                           ACQUISITION OF DIBA INDUSTRIES, INC.


Halma p.l.c., the leading safety and environmental technology group, announces
that on 13 May 2004 it completed the purchase of Diba Industries, Inc. ('Diba'),
a leading health and diagnostic components business, for a cash consideration of
$14 million (£7.9 million).  The acquisition, which is immediately earnings
enhancing, has been funded from Halma's existing cash resources.


Diba supplies specialty components, tubing assemblies and complete fluid
transfer subassemblies for the medical, life science and scientific instrument
industries.  Its products are instrumental in assuring safe and secure handling
of high purity fluids, such as human blood samples, and the hazardous liquids
employed in a variety of analytical and diagnostic techniques.  Diba will join
Halma's Optics and Specialist Technology Sector.  The company's advanced
technologies for diagnostic instruments and strong relationships with major
pharmaceutical and biotechnology instrumentation designers and manufacturers
will significantly enhance Halma's global capabilities in the growing market of
fluid technology.  The acquisition will also broaden Halma's product offering to
designers and manufacturers of a wide variety of instruments and devices.


Diba is headquartered in Connecticut, USA.  Unaudited accounts for the year
ended 29 February 2004 show that Diba made profits of $1.8 million (£1 million)
(after adjustment for non-recurring items) on sales of $12 million (£6.7
million).  The consideration of $14 million (£7.9 million) in cash is based on
net tangible assets of $4.5 million (£2.5 million), including $1 million (£0.6
million) cash.


Stephen O'Shea, Halma's Chief Executive, commented: 'This acquisition is part of
our value creation strategy and builds on the strengths being developed by the
Group in the area of fluid technology.  Diba's market dynamics are attractive
since growth will continue to be driven by the requirements to provide higher
quality and more efficient diagnostic testing to an ageing population, by the
R&D demands of pharmaceutical and biotechnology laboratories and by global
healthcare expectations.'


For further information, please contact:

Halma p.l.c.                                                  [phone]

Stephen O'Shea, Chief Executive

Kevin Thompson, Finance Director


Hogarth Partnership Limited                                  [phone]

Rachel Hirst/Andrew Jaques


A copy of this announcement, together with other information about Halma, may be
viewed on its website: www.halma.com

                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange