Spirax-Sarco to buy Paris-based Thermocoax for €158m

Spirax-Sarco Engineering has agreed to buy electrical thermal solutions business, Thermocoax, for €158m (£139m).

The company, which announced back in February that it was in exclusive negotiations, purchased the business from Chequers Capital and TCR Capital, among others.

Headquartered in Paris, Thermocoax has three manufacturing facilities in Normandy, one in Georgia in the US and a further facility in Heidelberg, Germany. Spirax said it expects Thermocoax to become part of its Chromalox business and to "significantly" enhance its electrical process heating business, especially in Europe.

In the year to 31 December 2018, Thermocoax recorded revenues of €49.8m (£43.9m), EBITDA of €12.9m (£11.4m) and EBIT of €12.1m (£10.7m).

Chief executive Nicholas Anderson said in February: "The combination of Thermocoax and Chromalox will significantly strengthen our electrical thermal energy solutions presence in Europe while expanding our technology and product offering worldwide.

"We believe that the global Spirax Sarco footprint will allow both businesses to expand more rapidly into new geographic areas providing sustainable value creation for customers and shareholders."

The deal will require certain regulatory approvals in France, Germany and the USA. These regulatory approvals and completion are expected during the second quarter of the year.

At 1410 GMT, the shares were down 0.3% to 7,105p.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Fielding said in February that the acquisition has "apparent strategic logic" and expands the Chromalox offering.

"The multiple at 13x EBIT compares attractively with Spirax at circa 18x19E, and it does not raise debt to an uncomfortable level."