Cooper set to snap up MTL

London - Cooper Industries has made an agreed bid for the MTL Instruments Group that values the company at some £144 million. The offer price of 708.5p/share represents a premium of approximately 30% on the closing price of MTL shares on 1 Nov 2007.  The MTL board considers the offer “fair and reasonable” and has unanimously recommended acceptance. Shareholders have received the offer documentation and the deal is expected to go ahead in mid-January.

MTL develops and supplies electronic instrumentation and protection equipment for the process and telecommunication industries. Most of its equipment is used in hazardous environments in the petrochemical, chemicals and oil and gas industries. Turnover of MTL in 2006 was £85.3 million, which generated a net income of £5.5 million. It claims over 6,000 active customers.

Commenting on the acquisition, MTL chief executive Graeme Philip said it would accelerate the group’s progress towards its goal of being “the leading provider of automation networking solutions” by helping to develop packaged systems to supplement the current instrumentation business. At the same time, he claimed, MTL will retain its independence as a supplier to leading automation systems companies.

Cooper is a global manufacturer with a turnover in 2006 of $5.2 billion and net income of $464 million. Some 33% of sales are gained outside the US. The Houston-based outfit has eight divisions employing 31,000 staff. MTL is expected to become part of Copper Crouse Hinds, which supplies equipment such as switches, lighting, flameproof boxes and enclosures.

Cooper has also completed three further acquisitions in North America valued at some $100 million. They are Omnex, a supplier of wireless networking systems, Roam Secure, which produces text-based alerting and notification systems, and vehicle electrical systems producer Sure Power Industries.