Smiths Group to sell John Crane's Bearings business

Smiths Group has agreed to sell its John Crane's Bearings business to private Austrian company Miba AG for an enterprise value of $35m.

Smiths said the divestment is part of the ongoing corporate programme to concentrate the portfolio on scalable market leading positions in the company's chosen markets, and the proceeds will be reinvested in "attractive growth opportunities".

The Bearings business manufactures and maintains hydrodynamic bearings for the power generation, oil & gas and general industrial markets. In the year to the end of July 2017, it reported total revenue of $56m, with a 12% EBITDA margin. It represented around 5% of John Crane's total revenue.

Chief executive Andy Reynolds Smith said: "This divestment shows further progress in focusing Smiths Group's portfolio as we reposition ourselves for long-term growth in markets where we can build leading positions.

"This is the second disposal in John Crane having sold Artificial Lift in September 2016. John Crane is now a more focused business leveraging its technology leadership and service network of over 200 sites across the globe."