LONDON, UK: The 600 Group PLC (AIM: SIXH), the diversified industrial engineering company, and sure different Group companies have entered right into a conditional sale and buy settlement with Timesavers Acquisition LLC relating to the disposal of the entire issued share capital of every of 600 UK Limited, Colchester GmbH, 600 Machinery Australia Pty Ltd and Clausing Industrial, Inc, which collectively comprise the Group’s Machine Tool Solutions Division.
Total money consideration of US $21 million is payable on completion. The disposal will full the shift of the Group’s technique towards its rising industrial laser systems business.
The net proceeds of the disposal will present the Group with the resources with which to pay down its existing money owed and present significant additional resources with which to make investments in natural and inorganic growth methods focused on industrial laser systems.
Paul Dupee, Chairman of The 600 Group, commented:
“The Group’s strategic focus on our industrial laser systems companies has already efficiently generated higher margins, large new buyer wins and a record order book. The proposed disposal of our Machine Tool Solutions Division is the culmination of this technique and can present the Group with the funds to strengthen our balance sheet and additional speed up the expansion of our laser division.
“Industrial lasers are deployed by the Group’s blue-chip customers throughout a number of industries and applications. The funding we have made to date in our two laser companies – Control Micro Systems and TYKMA Electrox – places the Group in a commanding place to present higher-margin, customised merchandise with the pricing energy to withstand market pressures. We believe that is a extremely attractive but fragmented market and we will now be even higher positioned to focus the Group’s efforts on capitalising on this opportunity.”
Background to and causes for the Disposal
On 15 November 2021, the Company introduced that buying and selling inside the primary six months of its present monetary year noticed a strong restoration from the COVID-19 pandemic with industrial exercise now again above pre-Covid-19 pandemic ranges and a record order book and enquiry pipeline. The Company introduced that it had continued to see particularly strong demand in its Laser Division; with Control Micro Systems Inc, winning large new orders and TYKMA Inc. persevering with to transition from commoditised merchandise to a extra customized machine focus.
The Board considers that the industrial laser system market is extremely attractive and has for a while been transitioning the Group’s technique towards this division. The Laser Division’s internal gross sales operation and distribution community now serves each TYKMA Electrox and CMS and additional synergy advantages are being gained in cross fertilization of technology and product knowledge between the 2 businesses.
The Disposal, if approved by Shareholders and completed, will full the Group’s shift towards its higher-margin industrial laser systems business, for which the Group continues to see particularly strong demand inside a extremely fragmented market, however disruption and price will increase inside the present chain. For the primary half of the present monetary year, the industrial laser systems division had revenues of $15.2 million (H1 FY21: $9.8 million) and working revenue of $1.8 million (H1 FY21: $0.2 million).
In the six months ended 30 September 2021, the assets of the Disposal, being the Group’s Machine Tool Solutions Division, generated unaudited revenues of $18.8 million (H1 FY21: $15.5 million), unaudited adjusted working revenue of $0.8m (H1 FY21: $0.7 million) and had net assets of $21.6 million, excluding allocation of head workplace and different unattributed liabilities. The Machine Tool Solutions Division had additionally been topic to disruption and price will increase inside its present chain, which has been affecting the broader industry.
The Company continues to carry out in line with the Board’s expectations with each the total order book and the Laser Division order book up over 70% year on year.
The net proceeds of the Disposal will present the Company with the resources with which to pay down the Group’s existing money owed and present significant additional resources with which to make investments in natural and inorganic growth methods as an industrial laser system focused Group.
(www.600group.com).