HARRISBURG, Pa., July 20, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that it has completed arrangements with UK-based Cape PLC to purchase the assets of its Cleton industrial maintenance services subsidiaries in Holland, Belgium and Germany. The terms of the transaction provide for an initial cash payment to Cape of EUR8.175 million (approximately $10.3 million), which represents a small premium to the net assets purchased, and is subject to adjustment for final accounts up to a maximum of EUR8.85 million (approximately $11.2 million). Cleton posted 2005 revenues in excess of $50 million and employs close to 400 people.
Cleton will join Harsco's Access Services segment under the SGB division, bringing with it additional service capabilities in the industrial plant maintenance sector and long-established client relationships with "blue chip" industrial customers. Cleton specializes in providing scaffolding and related insulation services for the maintenance of large scale industrial plants, and serves some of the largest oil refinery, petrochemical, and process plant sites in the Benelux countries. "This purchase will enhance our overall value proposition, strengthen the expanding industrial plant maintenance services arm of SGB's Access Services business in Western Europe, and provide additional capacity to meet projected growth opportunities," said SGB Group President and CEO Geoffrey D. H. Butler. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Harsco's earnings in its first full year of operation.
Harsco's Access Services segment serves the industrial plant maintenance, non-residential construction and energy markets as the world's foremost provider of access-related services. In addition to SGB, the segment includes Harsco's Hunnebeck Group division, which operates throughout Europe and in the Middle East, and the Patent Construction Systems division, which operates throughout North America. Harsco employs approximately 21,000 people in 45 countries of operation and recorded 2005 sales of approximately $2.8 billion. Harsco's four market-leading business groups provide mill services, access services, engineered products and services, and gas containment and control technologies to major customers worldwide. Harsco's common stock is a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 1000 Index. Additional information can be found at www.harsco.com.
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