Eaton Corp. (ETN) agreed to acquire privately held Internormen
Technology Group, the latest in a series of acquisitions for the
diversified manufacturing company.
Financial terms weren't disclosed. The deal is expected to
expand Eaton's filtration product portfolio, as well as its
presence in emerging markets such as Brazil, India and China.
Internormen, based in Germany, had sales of more than $55
million last year. Stefan and Bernhard Franger, sons of founder
Helmut Franger, had leadership roles at Internormen and will assume
similar management responsibilities at Eaton.
Eaton in January reported fourth-quarter profit climbed by a
third as revenue and margins surged. The company has continued its
streak of double-digit profit and sales gains and in January
Chairman and Chief Executive Alexander Cutler said it expects
markets for all six of its business segments to grow this year, the
first such broad-based growth since 2006. It has benefited lately
from increased production volumes in construction and farm
machinery and the long-suffering commercial truck industry.
The company's hydraulics group, which accounts for about 16% of
total sales and includes its filtration business, reported fourth
quarter sales jumped 36% from a year earlier.
Shares closed Friday at $51.62 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is up 39% in the past 12 months amid a rebound in the
manufacturing sector.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481;
Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com