Acquisition

RNS Number : 5008E

Halma PLC

31 May 2012

 

Halma plc ('Halma') ACQUISITION Halma, the leading safety, health and sensor technology group, today announces the acquisition of SunTech Medical Group Limited ("SunTech") on 31 May 2012. SunTech (www.suntechmed.com) is a pre-eminent supplier of clinical grade non-invasive blood pressure monitoring products and technologies. They sell both under the SunTech brand and through a variety of medical device OEMs which incorporate SunTech products into their own patient monitoring systems. The company manufactures at its headquarters in Morrisville, North Carolina, USA and in Shenzhen, China with a sales office in Eynsham, UK. The initial cash consideration is $46.0 million (£29.7 million) for the share capital plus $5.0 million (£3.2 million) for cash retained in the business. The combined consideration is adjustable Dollar for Dollar based on the level of working capital and cash at closing. Working capital, excluding cash, is expected to be approximately $8.3 million (£5.4 million). Contingent consideration of up to $6.0 million (£3.9 million) is payable if earnings for the year to December 2012 exceed a pre-determined target. Unaudited accounts, adjusted for non-recurring expenses, for the financial year ended 31 December 2011 show revenues of $23.0 million (£14.8 million) and an operating profit of $5.4 million (£3.5 million). Current trading remains good. SunTech is being acquired from management and a group of private shareholders including small private institutions and trusts. Existing management will remain in place and will continue to operate the business. The acquisition, which is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing, has been funded from Halma's cash and debt facilities. SunTech will join Halma's Health and Analysis sector within the Health Optics sub-sector which includes Riester, Keeler, Volk and Accutome. SunTech is particularly complementary to Riester, which already sells blood pressure and vital signs monitors in over 50 countries worldwide.

Andrew Williams, Halma's Chief Executive, commented: "The acquisition of SunTech continues our strategy of building strong positions in markets with resilient long-term growth drivers.  Their blood pressure monitoring technology is a perfect complement to Riester's own clinical grade blood pressure monitoring devices and this acquisition allows the two companies to work together to further develop their markets and products.

For further information please contact: Halma plc Andrew Williams, Chief Executive Kevin Thompson, Finance Director	[phone]
MHP Communications Rachel Hirst/Andrew Jaques	[phone]

Notes

1.	Exchange rate used:  US$1.55/£1.
2.	SunTech's products are used to diagnose and monitor hypertension, or high blood pressure, in a variety of environments including physicians' offices, bedside in hospitals or patient care facilities, during cardiac stress monitoring, during medical transportation, during dialysis and in support of clinical research. The market for patient blood pressure monitoring is independently reported to be growing at 5.8% per year over the medium term.*  Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a symptom of many serious diseases; hence, the regular monitoring of blood pressure is considered one of the most important diagnostic tools in determining a person's overall health status. Both aging and increasing obesity are driving rising hypertension rates globally.  Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) is increasingly being recommended for the routine diagnosis of hypertension in primary care.**  The company offers a variety of solutions in a range of niche applications including in-clinic use, out-of-office use (ABPM) and cardiac stress test applications. SunTech has also recently introduced a line of vital sign monitoring equipment and a complete line of blood pressure cuffs designed for general and specific applications. The company is the market leader in the stress monitoring market with their Tango+® product line. They also provide blood pressure monitoring modules to several leading OEMs for incorporation into their patient monitoring systems.
3.	Halma buys successful businesses in safety, health and environmental markets and helps them grow further through investment targeted towards increasing innovation, management development and international expansion. In the past 10 years Halma has spent over £350m acquiring more than 25 businesses with deal sizes ranging from £70m down to below £1m. Although businesses have been acquired in all areas of our activity, the majority of recent acquisitions has been in the Health & Analysis Sector.
4.	This statement is not intended to constitute a profit forecast for the current financial period or for any future period.  In addition, this statement should not be taken to mean that the earnings per share of Halma will necessarily match or exceed the historic reported earnings per share of Halma.
5.	A copy of this announcement, together with other information about Halma and its Health Optics businesses, may be viewed on our website: www.halma.com.
6.	Halma's Preliminary Announcement for the year ended 31 March 2012 will be issued on 14 June 2012. * 2010-2014 Global Blood Pressure Monitor Market, TechNavio Insights **  UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence, August 2011

 

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