Biome Tech Regulatory News (BIOM)

5 Sep 2005 07:03

Stanelco PLC05 September 2005 5th September 2005 Stanelco plc ("Stanelco" or the "Company") Completion of Acquisition of Biotec Holdings GmbH and Joint Venture with SP Metal S.A. Stanelco, the RF (radio frequency) applications group, is pleased to announcethat the acquisition of Biotec Holdings GmbH and subsidiaries ("Biotec") from E.Khashoggi Industries LLC ("EKI") has now been completed. Following theacquisition, the Company has now completed the sale of a 50% stake in Biotec toSP Metal S.A. ("SP Metal"), thereby creating a joint venture (the "JV"). SPMetal is the leading European manufacturer of household packaging products.Details of the JV were included in the initial announcement made on 5th July2005. Further to the conditions of the JV set out in the initial announcement,Stanelco and SP Metal have both agreed that in the event of: (1) one of theparties defaulting on the payment of one or both of the deferred considerationpayments, the other party will have an option to acquire the proportion of theother party's interest corresponding to that unpaid consideration; and (2)certain triggering events, which include insolvency, the party subject to thetriggering event will redeem its shares, if required, for a pre-determinedconsideration. Except as disclosed above, no other significant change has been made to theconditions of the JV, as set out in the initial announcement. Ian Balchin, CEO of Stanelco said: "We are delighted to formalise this joint venture with SP Metal. Our twoorganisations have complementary strengths and work in complementary markets andwe believe our JV will provide greater opportunities for Biotec and a greaterreturn for shareholders. Our common goal is to commercialise Biotec's wealth ofintellectual property that primarily relates to starch based biodegradableplastics. We will also benefit from SP Metal's considerable manufacturingexperience and scale. We look forward to working with SP Metal to deriveadditional benefits from economies of scale at Biotec and to take advantage ofhigh oil prices to replace petroleum based plastics with our more sustainableproducts." John Persenda, Chairman and CEO of SP Metal said: "Now that this joint venture has been completed, we are really thrilled to beworking closely with Biotec and Stanelco to rapidly deliver a wide range ofbiodegradable plastic products to the market place. We remain firmly committedto increasing the use of natural renewable raw materials in providingecologically sound product solutions." - Ends - For further information please contact: Ian Balchin, Chief Executive John Persenda, CEO Stanelco PLC Isabelle Tharaud, Deputy CEO, Tel: +44 (0)2380 867100 SP Metal S.A. Tel: +33 (0)153 65 23 00 Jonathon Brill/Billy Clegg Public Relations Department Financial Dynamics Marielle Cayron-His Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113 Tel: +33 (0) 153 65 23 00 About Stanelco plc The Stanelco Group of companies (the "Group") has brought together expertise inRF technology, RF applications and biodegradable material sciences to create arevolutionary range of packaging technologies. Stanelco's philosophy is that new products and processes must offer solutionsand applications which: • give higher added value; • are greener, more environmentally sustainable than those they replace; and • have protectable intellectual property rights. Stanelco will develop the products and processes to a demonstration stage andthen work with partners in order to reach the markets; and under thesecircumstances Stanelco will usually seek to license its technology. Stanelcoinvests considerable time and resources in ensuring its technologies areprotected via layers of patents wherever possible. In this way Stanelco believes it can minimise commercial risk and preserve thehighest value for shareholders. The products offering the prospect of near term revenue generation are beinggiven priority over the Group's resources. Stanelco was founded in 1953 and is a world leader in the development of radiofrequency technologies for processing polymers for edible and packagingapplications and the design and manufacture of optical fibre technology,induction heating and dielectric welding equipment. Stanelco's currentdevelopments include GREENSEAL Food tray lidding technology, STARPOL (starch /pva blended material), FrogPack high impact low cost packaging format,CradleWrap range of biodegradable air cushion packaging, Soluble tape, 100%water-soluble films and adhesives, Biodegradable Airbag (void fill) packaging,water-soluble detergent capsules, edible sachets and waste packing. GREENSEAL, STARPOL, Frog Pack and CradleWrap are all trademarks of the Stanelcogroup. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange