Spectris to divest EMS B&K joint venture

Instrumentation and controls company Spectris announced on Friday that, together with Macquarie Corporate Holdings, it has agreed to divest the EMS Brüel & Kjær joint venture to Envirosuite.

The FTSE 250 firm described Envirosuite as an environmental management technology company, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

It said EMS B&K is a provider of environmental monitoring services to airports, cities, mines and construction companies, jointly majority owned by Spectris and Macquarie with equal 45% shareholding interests, with management holding the remaining minority interest.

All issued shareholding interests in EMS B&K would be sold to Envirosuite under the terms of the transaction.

For its share, Spectris will receive AUD 35m (£18.46m) cash, less repayment of EMS B&K's debt facility on completion, and 10 million shares in Envirosuite.

The transaction remained conditional only on approval by Envirosuite's shareholders at a meeting to be held in late February, and the conditional placement of shares by Envirosuite required to fund the consideration for the transaction, with completion expected to take place shortly after that.

“The sale of Spectris' interest in EMS B&K is another step in simplifying the group's portfolio,” said the Spectris board.

“Envirosuite provides a range of environmental monitoring services and the addition of EMS B&K complements and expands their solution-as-a-service offering.”

At 0859 GMT, shares in Spectris were up 0.46% at 2,815p.