-
Provides GE with a foundation in specialized underground mining
equipment and services
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Enables GE to accelerate technology development and expand product and
service offering to bring efficient, high productivity, and low
emission equipment to the Mining industry
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Expands GE Transportation’s presence in fast-growing regions
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Broadens opportunities in $61 billion global mining equipment industry
Company Website:
http://www.ge.com
ERIE, Pa. -- (Business Wire)
GE (NYSE: GE) announced today that it is pursuing acquisitions of two
underground mining equipment manufacturers in support of the global
expansion of its mining business. GE has entered into an agreement to
acquire 100 percent of Australia-based Industrea Limited (ASX: IDL,
OTCQX: IULTY), a provider of safety and productivity-enhancing mining
equipment and services. The transaction is valued at approximately A$700
million, which represents a 5.5x EBITDA multiple based on full-year
financial data as of Dec. 31, 2011. The company also signed a binding
Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Fairchild International, an
independently owned and operated underground mining equipment
manufacturer located in Glen Lyn, Virginia. Terms of the agreement were
not disclosed.
The combination of the two entities expands GE’s product offering to
address approximately 35% of the underground mining value chain.
Industrea Ltd. and Fairchild International together are well positioned
in dynamic growth regions for mining, including Australia, China
(Industrea), and the United States (Fairchild). GE will enable these
regionally focused enterprises to reach a global customer base with
enhanced products based on GE’s clean propulsion systems, energy storage
offering, and world-class system integration capabilities. Both
Industrea Ltd. and Fairchild International will benefit from GE’s lean
manufacturing and effective global supply chain management.
Both companies will become part of GE Transportation’s global mining
business which utilizes the people, technologies, and products from
across GE to help its customers solve their toughest mining challenges.
GE helps mines work better by providing innovative solutions in critical
areas such as power, water, and productivity.
Industrea Ltd.
With more than 700 employees, seven Australian locations, and a
significant presence in China, Industrea Ltd. is well positioned for
growth across its four divisions: Mining Equipment (flame- and
explosion-proof underground mining vehicles and equipment), Mining
Technology (drill guidance systems and collision avoidance systems), Gas
Management (specialized underground in-seam drilling and gas drainage
services) and Mining Services (integrated contract mining services).
With the proposed acquisition of Industrea, GE makes a strategic
investment in expanding its manufacturing footprint to Australia and
contributing to a strong industrial manufacturing base in the country.
In addition, GE expands its product portfolio to underground mining and
increases its presence in key mining regions Australia and China.
Industrea Ltd. can benefit from GE’s global footprint and customer
relationships, and mining technologies.
Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Transportation said:
“Industrea has built an attractive business supplying major mining
companies in growth regions. The company has developed a solid record of
helping customers increase production while continually implementing
safety improvements.
“We believe that Industrea’s business can grow more rapidly by expanding
its product suite and geographic reach combined with GE’s technical
expertise and global customer relationships. GE’s equipment experience,
battery and hybridization technologies, propulsion system offering and
global distribution capability will help us expand the Industrea
business. It will also improve the environmental performance of
Industrea’s products by lowering fuel use and emissions. We see this as
a way to bring the reality of Ecomagination to the world of mining,"
Simonelli said.
Globally, mining equipment is a $61 billion industry driven by dynamic,
global infrastructure growth as well as several structural factors such
as increasing automation, and heightened safety and environmental
requirements.
Robin Levison, Managing Director and CEO of Industrea Ltd. said: “GE’s
resources, technical expertise and global customer relationships are
expected to accelerate the growth of Industrea’s businesses, building on
the company’s strong reputation for products and services that enhance
the safety and productivity of mining companies. New career
opportunities will open up for our people, and customers will be able to
benefit from increased resources devoted to product development and
innovation."
The transaction will be subject to shareholder approval. Industrea Ltd.
shareholders will vote on the offer in the second half of 2012. The
transaction is also subject to customary conditions including relevant
regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close later in 2012.
Fairchild International
GE Transportation signed a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire
Virginia-based, independently owned and operated Fairchild
International. The company employs approximately 150 people and
manufactures a wide range of underground mining equipment, including
diesel and battery-powered scoops, continuous miners, haulage systems,
shield haulers, and maintenance vehicles.
With this acquisition, GE will expand its product offering to
underground mining and grow Fairchild’s customer base beyond its core
U.S. market to serve mining customers worldwide. With its electric
propulsion and state-of-the-art energy storage systems, GE will be able
to deliver higher efficiency and productivity to mining customers
worldwide while lowering fuel use, emissions, and life-cycle cost.
Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Transportation said: “With
the acquisition of Fairchild International we will combine nearly fifty
years of leading industry knowledge and expertise in designing, building
and servicing underground mining equipment with GE’s global reach,
technology leadership in clean propulsion and energy storage systems,
and world-class system integration capabilities. We will bring the next
generation of top performing underground mining equipment to mining
customers around the globe.”
Myrleen Fairchild, President of Fairchild International said: “This is
an exciting time for Fairchild International, our employees, my family,
and for me. I want to thank all our customers and suppliers for their
trust and support over the past decades. I’m confident that our people
and products will continue to flourish under the leadership of GE for
the benefit of our customers.”
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2012. Terms
of the agreement were not disclosed.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best
technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in
energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering,
moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For
more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
About GE Transportation
GE Transportation, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), solves the world’s toughest
transportation challenges. GE Transportation builds equipment that moves
the rail, mining and marine industries. Our fuel-efficient and
lower-emissions freight and passenger locomotives, diesel engines for
rail, marine and stationary power applications, signaling and software
solutions, drive systems for mining trucks, and value-added services
help customers grow. GE Transportation is headquartered in Erie, Penn.,
and employs approximately 12,000 employees worldwide. For more
information visit the company's website at www.getransportation.com.
About Industrea Limited
Industrea provides highly specialised products and services to the
mining industry. Customers throughout the world use Industrea’s products
and services to enhance the safety and productivity of their mining
operations. Headquartered in Brisbane, Industrea is listed on the
Australian Securities Exchange under the ASX stock code of IDL and on
the OTCQX in the US under ticker code IULTY. For more information on
Industrea Limited and all announcements, presentations and webcasts,
please visit www.industrea.com.au.
About Fairchild International
Fairchild International has been serving the mining industry for over 47
years and is an independently owned and operated underground coal mining
equipment manufacturer. The company manufactures the industry's most
complete line of AC VFD and DC battery-powered scoops along with
permissible and non-permissible diesel-powered scoop and longwall shield
haulers. Fairchild also manufactures a range of low seam continuous
miners and haulage systems, maintenance vehicles, maintenance centers
and cargo carriers. The company is headquartered in Glen Lyn, VA, with
established warehouses and service centers in Beckley, WV; DuQuoin, IL;
Huntington, UT; Indiana, PA; and Pikeville, KY. For more information
visit the company's website at www.fairchildint.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:
This document contains “forward-looking statements” – that is,
statements related to future, not past, events. In this context,
forward-looking statements often address our expected future business
and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain
words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,”
“seek,” “see,” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature
address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us,
particular uncertainties that could cause our actual results to be
materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking
statements include: current economic and financial conditions, including
volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices
and the value of financial assets; potential market disruptions or other
impacts arising in the United States or Europe from developments in the
European sovereign debt situation; the impact of conditions in the
financial and credit markets on the availability and cost of General
Electric Capital Corporation’s (GECC) funding and on our ability to
reduce GECC’s asset levels as planned; the impact of conditions in the
housing market and unemployment rates on the level of commercial and
consumer credit defaults; changes in Japanese consumer behavior that may
affect our estimates of liability for excess interest refund claims
(Grey Zone); pending and threatened litigation against WMC, including
increased activity by securitization trustees; our ability to maintain
our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and
competitive position if we do not do so; the adequacy of our cash flow
and earnings and other conditions which may affect our ability to pay
our quarterly dividend at the planned level; our plan to resume GECC
dividends, which is subject to Federal Reserve review; the level of
demand and financial performance of the major industries we serve,
including, without limitation, air and rail transportation, energy
generation, real estate and healthcare; the impact of regulation and
regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance
risks, including the impact of financial services regulation; strategic
actions, including acquisitions, joint ventures and dispositions and our
success in completing announced transactions and integrating acquired
businesses; the impact of potential information technology or data
security breaches; and numerous other matters of national, regional and
global scale, including those of a political, economic, business and
competitive nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future
results to be materially different than those expressed in our
forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our
forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
GE Transportation
Stephan Koller, +1-814-875-3457 (office)
+1-814-431-3150
(cell)
stephan.koller@ge.com
or
GE
Australia & New Zealand
Joanne Woo, +1.613.8807.6223 (office)
+1.61.409.330.731
(cell)
joanne.woo@ge.com
or
Financial
& Corporate Relations Pty Limited (for Industrea Limited)
Anthony
Tregoning, +61.2.8264.1000 (office)
+61.411.852.448 (cell)
a.tregoning@fcr.com.au
or
Fairchild
International
Jack Fairchild, +1-540-726-2380 (office)
jack.fairchild@fairchildint.com
Source: GE
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