Spectris offloads half of EMS B&K to Macquarie

Productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company Spectris has signed an agreement with Macquarie Capital - the corporate advisory and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group - for them to acquire 50% of Spectris' environmental monitoring business EMS Brüel & Kjær for a total cash consideration of AUD 76.6m (£43.4m), subject to closing adjustments.

The FTSE 250 company said the sale was expected to close early in the second quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals in China, the European Union and South Korea.

It said the net proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce net debt, thereby increasing the group's financial flexibility for future capital deployment.

EMS B&K is a global provider of environmental monitoring services to airports, cities, mines and construction companies.

Spectris said the business would now benefit from accelerated investment, which would help create additional solutions and services that would enable asset owners to monitor and manage their resources more effectively.

It explained that Macquarie Capital's expertise as a “world-leading” infrastructure advisor and investor would be of “great benefit” to the new joint venture in its next stage of development.

“We are delighted to partner with Macquarie Capital,” said Spectris chief executive John O'Higgins.

“This joint venture creates a significant opportunity for us to collaborate on the industrial internet of things.

“We look forward to a successful working relationship with Macquarie Capital to deliver this.”

Daniel Wong, global co-head of energy and infrastructure at Macquarie Capital, said the investment was an “integral part” of Macquarie Capital's focus on technology applying to infrastructure (InfraTech).

“This is recognition that a number of technologies can now bring significant benefit in the construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure assets,” Wong added.

“Macquarie looks to leverage its presence in the infrastructure sector and knowledge of technology to take a leading position in this space and we see this new venture with EMS B&K as a first step into this fast growing market.”