Completion of Acquisition and Additional Listing

RNS Number : 3737U

Weir Group PLC

12 July 2018

 

Weir completes acquisition of ESCO Corporation: admission of shares to trading

The Weir Group PLC ("Weir" or "the Group") has completed the acquisition of ESCO Corporation ("ESCO") effective today.

This follows the announcement on 19 April 2018 of an agreement to acquire ESCO, the world's leading provider of ground engaging tools for surface mining and infrastructure, for an estimated Enterprise Value of US$1,285m ("the Acquisition").

Weir Group CEO Jon Stanton said:

"I am delighted that ESCO has formally become part of the Weir Group.  ESCO brings a strong global leadership position and adds another premium brand to our portfolio of market-leading products and services.

As mining markets continue to grow customers are focused on increasing production sustainably and efficiently. ESCO's premier position in surface mining complements our established leadership in materials processing, meaning together the Group has a unique range of mission critical solutions from extraction to concentration, built on proprietary technology, superior wear life and supported by an unrivalled service network."

ESCO will operate as a new division of the Weir Group, and will be reported as a separate segment alongside Minerals and Oil & Gas.  Following the previous announcement that the Group will initiate a process to sell the Flow Control Division, the results of that division will now be reported as discontinued operations.

ESCO will be led by Division President Jon Owens, formerly President and Chief Operating Officer of ESCO Corporation, who first joined the business in 1986.  Jon will join Weir's Group Executive and become a Person Discharging Managerial Responsibilities (PDMR) with immediate effect.

Cal Collins, formerly Chairman and CEO of ESCO Corporation, will join The Weir Group PLC Board as a Non-Executive Director and PDMR with immediate effect.

There are no further details to be disclosed relating to Cal Collins under section 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules.

Further biographical information on Cal Collins and Jon Owens is available at www.global.weir 

Admission to trading

Further to the announcement of yesterday and following completion of the Acquisition, Weir also announces the admission of 16,779,861 new ordinary shares in the Company (the "Shares") to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA") and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc (the "LSE") (together the "Admission") today, 12 July 2018.

In accordance with the FCA Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (the "DTR") we hereby notify that subsequent to this share issue Weir's capital consists of 259,613,517 ordinary shares in issue. The number of ordinary shares held in Treasury is 192,172. Therefore, the total number of voting rights in Weir is 259,421,345.

The above figure, 259,421,345, may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, Weir under the DTR.

About The Weir Group PLC

Founded in 1871, Weir is one of the world's leading engineering businesses.  Its solutions help increase productivity in some of the world's toughest operating environments where reliable performance, superior wear life and close customer proximity are crucial.  Its main markets are mining, energy and infrastructure and the Group employs approximately 18,000 people in over 70 countries.  Weir is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, with its ordinary shares trading on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: WEIR.LN) and its American Depositary Receipts trading over-the-counter in the USA (ticker: WEGRY).

Enquiries

Investors: Stephen Christie: [phone]    

Media: Raymond Buchanan: [phone]   

Brunswick: Patrick Handley / Nick Cosgrove: [phone]

 

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