Acquisition

Halma PLC
01 June 2004


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



ACQUISITION OF OCEAN OPTICS, INC.







Halma, the leading safety and environmental technology group, announces that on 29 May 2004 it agreed terms to purchase
Ocean Optics, Inc., a leading optical sensing and electro-optics systems business. The acquisition is immediately
earnings enhancing and will complement the suite of optical sensing businesses owned by Halma.



The purchase price includes an initial cash consideration of $25.0 million (£13.6 million), to be funded from Halma's
existing cash resources.  The initial consideration assumes net assets at completion of $6.1 million (£3.3 million);
any adjustment to net assets at completion will result in a dollar for dollar adjustment.  Additional payments of up to
$25.0 million (£13.6 million) are conditional upon profits growth of this business of over 100% between April 2004 and
March 2006.  Halma has received irrevocable undertakings from shareholders representing the majority of the issued
share capital of Ocean Optics, and completion is subject to a shareholders' meeting being held on 8 June 2004.



Audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2003 show that Ocean Optics generated profit before tax of $4.6 million
(£2.5 million) on sales of $25.2 million (£13.7 million)



Ocean Optics is a leading supplier of optical sensing systems that determine the colour, brightness and chemical
properties of a sample by measuring its interaction with light.  The company is the world market leader for miniature
fibre optic spectrometers serving a wide range of markets including consumer electronics, process control,
environmental monitoring, life sciences and medical diagnostics.  The company's products have been specified everywhere
from research vessels in the Gulf of Mexico to the Rocky 7 Mars rover, with applications ranging from cancer detection
to colour matching and the study of global warming.  The company is headquartered in Florida, USA.

In common with other Halma businesses, Ocean Optics has built up strong positions in its specialised markets and is
well positioned to benefit from the significant growth opportunities that exist for optical sensor-based products.  As
part of Halma's Optics and Specialist Technology Sector, Ocean Optics will have the opportunity to access a number of
new markets, creating important organic growth opportunities for the Halma Group.



Stephen O'Shea, Halma's Chief Executive, commented: 'Ocean Optics will bring an important new technology platform to
Halma and we anticipate significant opportunities to transfer this technology to Halma's other core markets.  This will
be the second acquisition this year within our Optics and Specialist Technology division and signals our strategic aim
to grow this part of the Group into an important profit contributor.'




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










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