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Low & Bonar acquires geosynthetics producer Texiplast

Low & Bonar, a performance materials group with leading positions in niche industrial markets, will acquire Texiplast, a Slovakian producer of high strength geosynthetic products serving the civil engineering market, for approximately €18.9m (£16.0m). The acquisition is expected to complete later today following the transfer of funds and provision of certain documents. In addition, Low & Bonar has announced the placing of 29,626,000 new ordinary shares of five pence each in the capital of Low & Bonar at a price of 69 pence per placing share raising £20.4m.

7th September 2013

Innovation in Textiles
 |  London

Civil Engineering, Industrial

Low & Bonar, a performance materials group with leading positions in niche industrial markets, will  acquire Texiplast, a Slovakian producer of high strength geosynthetic products serving the civil engineering market, for approximately €18.9m (£16.0m).

The acquisition is expected to complete later today following the transfer of funds and provision of certain documents. In addition, Low & Bonar has announced the placing of 29,626,000 new ordinary shares of five pence each in the capital of Low & Bonar at a price of 69 pence per placing share raising £20.4m.

Steve Good, Group Chief Executive, commented: “Texiplast is an exciting ‘bolt-on’ acquisition which is aligned to our strategy and highly complementary to our activities in the civil engineering sector.  the placing funds the acquisition and provides flexibility to support further growth.”

Acquisition

Texiplast, founded in 1938, is a manufacturer of soil reinforcement, separation, filtration and erosion control products. The Low & Bonar has agreed to acquire the company for a net cash payment of approximately €18.9m (£16.0m), on a debt-free basis.

For the year ended 31 December 2012, the Texiplast business generated revenues of €12.7m and EBITDA of €3.1m. The acquisition and placing of shares are expected to be earnings neutral in the year to 30 November 2014, but are said to be producing revenue thereafter.

The acquisition is said to enable Low & Bonar to become a more integrated provider of solutions for civil engineering projects.

It is also expected to provide opportunities for organic growth through organisational investment  to leverage and expand Texiplast’s product range and reach and to provide the group with improved access to Texiplast’s principal Central and Eastern European markets.

Placing

The placing of new ordinary shares represent approximately 9.99% of Low & Bonar’s existing issued share capital at a price of 69 pence per new ordinary share. The placing is said to raise gross proceeds of £20.4m, which will fund the acquisition and enable the group to continue its growth strategy.

It is expected that admission of the placing shares to the official list will become effective, and dealings in the placing shares will commence on 11 September this year.

www.lowandbonar.com

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