Schneider Electric buys Andover Controls from Balfour Beatty for $403 million

Novi, MI— Balfour Beatty reports that it’s selling its building management and security controls business, Andover Controls, to Paris-based Schneider Electric for $403 million in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of July 2004.

The sale includes Andover Controls, the core building automation business based in Andover, MA, as well as Andover Controls’ security division, consisting of Security International and Integral Technologies, in addition to Andover’s international subsidiaries and affiliates. Andover Controls generated approximately $169 million in revenue and $28 million of EBIT for the year that ended on Dec. 31, 2003.

‘The sale of Andover Controls is part of a process of focusing on and generating growth from our core engineering and construction businesses. By repositioning our portfolio of businesses in the U.S., Balfour Beatty will be able to more effectively target strategic sectors to our core busi-ness, improve our costs, effectiveness and overall ability to compete,’ says Dave Wathen, Bal-four’s president and CEO. ‘There has been significant consolidation in the U.S. building man-agement controls market in recent years, and the business requires a specialist-owner to continue to compete successfully under the new, emerging market structure.’

Balfour is a subsidiary of London-based Balfour Beatty plc, an $8-billion, international engineering, construction, and services group of companies. It serves international markets for rail, road, power systems, buildings and complex structures with design, construction and other ser-vices. It employs 28,000 people worldwide and has annual sales approaching $8 billion.

Mike Welton, Balfour Beatty plc’s CEOm adds that, ‘Divesting Andover Controls is consistent with our long-term vision of growing our U.S. presence in the group’s areas of core competence, and helps ensure that assets are efficiently targeted. The substantial inflow of cash generated from the sale will put the Balfour Beatty Group in a stronger position to make strategic ac-quisitions, including those that further strengthen our business in the U.S.’

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com

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