Alumasc Group Regulatory News (ALU)

1 May 2007 15:28

Alumasc Group PLC01 May 2007 Tuesday 1 May 2007 THE ALUMASC GROUP PLC ALUMASC ACQUIRES LEVOLUX FOR £13.5 MILLION Alumasc (ALU.L), the premium building and engineering products company,announces the acquisition of Levolux Limited and Levolux AT Limited (together,"Levolux"), the UK's leading supplier of solar shading systems for buildings,for a total consideration of £13.5 million. Consideration The consideration will be satisfied by the payment of £12.3 million in cash andthe issue to the vendors of 541,760 new ordinary shares in the Companyequivalent to £1.2 million at a share price of 221.5p1. The vendors of Levoluxhave undertaken not to sell any of the new ordinary shares for a period of atleast 24 months. The £12.3 million cash consideration was met from a new fiveyear revolving credit facility provided by Lloyds TSB Bank plc. Levolux Levolux designs, manufactures and installs internal and external shading systemswhich are used to control the impact of sunlight on a building's internalenvironment. These systems, which include Brise Soleil, Aerofoil Fins, Louvres,External and Internal Blinds, are increasingly specified in new buildings andrefurbishment projects in order to improve energy performance and the comfort ofoccupants. As a result of working closely with architects and other specifiers,Levolux systems are frequently an integral part of a building's functional andaesthetic design. In the 11 months to 31 March 2007, Levolux's unaudited operating profit wasapproximately £2.5 million on turnover of £19 million, compared with auditedoperating profit of £514,000 (after deducting bonuses to the owners) on turnoverof £15.9 million for the year to 30 April 2006. At 30 April 2006, it had netassets of £1.8 million and gross assets of £6.6 million. Levolux operates from two leasehold sites, one in Harrow, Middlesex, and theother in Gloucester. It is Alumasc's intention to continue the development ofLevolux from its present sites. Reasons for the Acquisition The acquisition of Levolux fits at the core of Alumasc's strategy to develop thegroup's high performance building products activities. Alumasc is already asupplier to the building industry of 'sustainable' products such as Zinco greenroofs and Gatic Slotdrain. Levolux will add significantly to Alumasc's portfolioof sustainable building products and will grow the opportunity, believed to besubstantial, for developing markets for these products outside the UK. The existing team, including John and Pamela Stern, the two principalshareholders, will continue to manage Levolux. Chief Executive, Paul Hooper, commented:'The opportunity to acquire such a high quality brand leader in the sustainablebuilding products market does not often present itself. With the introduction of the updated Document L building regulations aimed atreducing the UK's carbon emissions in commercial buildings, Levolux is in astrong position to assist architects in meeting such important demands as wellas contributing to external and internal design aesthetics. We are excited towelcome Levolux into The Alumasc Group and we look forward to building on thesuccess of the business to expand further in the UK and overseas. Levolux willspearhead The Alumasc Group's growing presence in sustainable "green" buildingproducts'. Enquiries: The Alumasc Group PLC Tel: 01536 383844Paul Hooper, Chief ExecutiveAndrew Magson, Finance Director Bankside ConsultantsCharles Ponsonby Tel: 0207 367 8851 1 Application has been made for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to theOfficial List and admission is expected to take place on 8 May 2007. The newordinary shares will rank pari passu, in all respects, with the existing issuedordinary shares. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange