Bureau Veritas Acquires UK's Inspectorate for GBP450 Million

PARIS (Dow Jones)--French conformity assessment and certification services company Bureau Veritas (BVI.FR) said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with U.K. company Inspicio, majority-owned by private equity firm 3i (III.LN) and funds managed by 3i, to acquire Inspicio's unit Inspectorate for GBP450 million. The transaction is expected to be completed during the third quarter, upon clearance from the relevant competition authorities, Bureau Veritas said in a statement. If the acquisition is approved, the group's revenue will increase to around EUR3 billion, the company said, without providing further financial details. In 2009, Inspectorate posted revenue of EUR280 million, with a 7% increase in organic growth. Bureau Veritas expects its net debt to rise to twice its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, following the acquisition. It also forecasts a full-year accretive impact of about 3% in 2010 and 4% in 2011, excluding synergies. -By Angeline Benoit, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40 17 17 40; angeline.benoit.berton@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 01:46 ET (05:46 GMT)