Smiths Group to sell trace detection business

Smiths Group has agreed to sell the explosive trace detection business formerly owned by Morpho Detection to OSI Systems Inc for an enterprise value of $75.5m.

Smiths agreed to buy Morpho from Safran in April 2016 for an enterprise value of $710m and approval of the deal from the US Department of Justice and the European Commission was dependent on Smiths divesting the trace business.

The sale is conditional upon regulatory approval in Portugal and the approval by the EC and the DoJ of OSI Systems Inc as a suitable purchaser. Completion is expected in mid-2017.

At 1436 BST, Smiths shares were up 0.3% to 1,608p.