Judges Scientific
plc
("Judges
Scientific", "Judges", the "Company" or the "Group")
Acquisition
of Magsputter Limited
Judges Scientific, a group focused
on acquiring and developing companies in the scientific instrument
sector, announces that it has acquired 100% of the issued share
capital of Magsputter Limited ("Magsputter" or the "Acquisition"), the holding company of
Teer Coatings Limited ("Teer"), a company specialising in
manufacturing coating instruments and providing coating
services. The Board expects the Acquisition to be immediately
earnings enhancing.
The initial consideration
for the Acquisition is £12.3m in cash. An
additional payment will be made to reflect any excess working
capital over and above the ongoing requirements of the business,
which the Board expects to be covered by the cash inherited at the
completion date.
The Acquisition's consolidated
accounts for the year ended 31 January 2024 showed net assets of
£6.0m and profit before tax of £1.8m. Adjusted EBIT (to reflect its
post-acquisition cost base) for the same period after deduction of
notional rent for the property owned and occupied by Teer, amounted
to £1.74m. The initial consideration is equal to six times
adjusted EBIT plus the independent valuation of the
property.
The initial consideration for the
Acquisition and associated transaction costs have been funded from
the Group's existing bank facilities.
Magsputter was created to facilitate
the management buyout of Teer in 2019. The buy-out team consisted
of Wayne Southall, sales and marketing director, Dr Hailin Sun,
technology director and Angela Byrne, the commercial director.
Wayne and Hailin will remain with the Company and Angela will
retire within six months of completion.
Alex Hambro, Chairman of Judges,
said: "We are pleased to incorporate Teer, a market leader in
its niche, into the Judges group. The Board believes that Teer,
with its outstanding scientific competence, will prosper in Judges,
and we welcome them to the Judges team."
Information on Teer
Teer is a leading provider of
cutting-edge coatings through PVD (physical vapour deposition)
magnetron sputtering. It sells its instruments and provide services
to academia and industries requiring particularly demanding
surfaces such as aerospace, motorsport and medicine. Instrument
sales and coating services are each producing half of the Company's
revenue. Teer is based in Droitwich Spa,
Worcestershire.
For further information please
contact:
|
Judges Scientific plc
David Cicurel, CEO
Brad Ormsby, CFO
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3829
6970
|
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser & Joint
Broker)
Stephane Auton
Harry Davies-Ball
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
|
|
|
Liberum (Joint Broker)
Edward Mansfield
Nikhil Varghese
Tel : +44 (0) 20 3100
2222
|
Investec Bank plc (Joint Broker)
Virginia Bull
Carlton Nelson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7597 4000
|
|
|
Alma
(Financial Public Relations)
Sam Modlin
Rebecca Sanders-Hewett
Joe Pederzolli
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3405 0205
judges@almastrategic.com
|
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Notes to editors:
Judges Scientific plc (AIM:
JDG), is a group focused on acquiring and developing companies in
the scientific instrument sector. The Group now consists of
25 businesses acquired since 2005.
The acquired companies are
primarily UK-based with products sold worldwide to a diverse
range of markets including: higher education institutions,
scientific research facilities, manufacturers and regulatory
authorities. The UK is a recognised centre of
excellence for scientific instruments. The Group has received
five Queen's Awards for innovation and export.
The Group's companies predominantly
operate in global niche markets, with long term growth fundamentals
and resilient margins.
Judges Scientific maintains a
policy of selectively acquiring businesses that generate
sustainable profits and cash. Shareholder returns are created
through the reduction of debt, organic growth and
dividends.
For further information, please
visit www.judges.uk.com