Acquisition

Carclo PLC 4 December 2000 CARCLO PLC Acquisition of Finespark (Horsham) Limited - 'The Alan Group' Introduction Carclo plc, the technical plastics group, announces the acquisition of Finespark (Horsham) Limited which trades as the Alan Group. This acquisition represents the next step in our strategy of building a global technical plastics group. Consideration The consideration for the acquisition is £ 6.9 million plus the assumption of approximately £1.5 million of debt and finance leases. The consideration is payable in cash. A further payment of up to £1.1 million will be made in the event that the business's Chinese subsidiary achieves agreed levels of profit growth from the date of acquisition up until 31 March 2003. Description of the Business The Alan Group is a market leader, both in the UK and mainland Europe, in the manufacture of high quality precision tooling for teletronics connectors and has a complimentary technical moulding and assembly facility. It has three operations in the UK and has invested in a new state of the art manufacturing facility located in Shanghai, China. This business has recently been equipped and is scheduled to commence manufacturing before the end of the current year. The Alan Group has approximately 110 employees predominantly based in Horsham, UK, with an increasing workforce now based in Shanghai. Financial Performance In the year to 31 March 2000, Alan Group had sales of £7.7 million and earnings before interest and tax of £1.6 million. The consideration is subject to the Alan Group having net assets in excess of £2.3 million on completion. Benefits The Alan Group is an excellent strategic fit with Carclo technical plastics. Their market leadership in Europe compliments the strength of CTP Carrera in North America. The new Alan Group facility in China will facilitate an accelerated entry by CTP into the fast growing Asian market for our products and services. Commenting on the acquisition, Ian Williamson, chief executive of Carclo plc said: 'The acquisition of the Alan Group is a further step in our strategy of building a global technical plastics group specialising in technical solutions for markets enjoying strong underlying growth. The combination of CTP Alan and CTP Carrera will be a strong global player in precision connector moulding for the data and telecom markets.' For further enquiries please contact: Carclo plc Ian Williamson, Chief Executive 01924 330 500 Chris Mawe, Finance Director Golin/Harris Ludgate Richard Hews 0207 253 2252 Trish Featherstone

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Carclo (CAR)
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