Spectris sells Omega Engineering for £400m, unveils £300m buyback

Precision instrument maker Spectris on Tuesday said it had sold its Omega Engineering unit to Arcline Investment Management for $525m (£403m), and unveiled a £300m share buyback.

Omega, which makes specialist sensors, will join the Dwyer Group, an Arcline portfolio company

For the 2021 financial year to December 31, 2021, Omega generated sales of £129m and adjusted core earnings of £19.7m. Spectris said it the deal would be settled in cash.

It added that the share buyback would be made up of an initial tranche of £150m, followed by a further £150m, subject to shareholder approval at the annual meeting on May 27.