Keller Regulatory News (KLR)

2 Oct 2007 07:00

For immediate release Tuesday, 2 October 2007 Keller Group plc US Acquisition of H J Foundation Inc.

Keller Group plc ("Keller" or "the Group"), the international ground engineering specialist, announces the purchase of the business and assets of H J Foundation Inc ("HJ").

HJ, a specialist piling contractor, is the market leader in Florida in Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piles, a growing product line which is new to Keller in the US. In the year to 31 December 2006, HJ reported operating profit of around $25m (‚£12.5m) on sales of around $92m (‚£46m).

The business has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years, benefiting in particular from the very buoyant condominium market in Florida. In recent months these exceptional market conditions have been returning to more sustainable levels and this has been fully reflected in the purchase price. Keller is paying an initial sum of around $49m (‚£24.5m), payable in cash from its existing resources, with a potential earn out based on future profits. No earn out will be paid unless average annual EBITDA over the 27 months to 31 December 2009 exceeds $12m.

The acquisition, which is expected to be earnings enhancing from 2008, gives Keller access to a new piling market in Florida, as well as enabling the Group to accelerate the introduction of CFA piling in its other US businesses.

Commenting on the acquisition, Justin Atkinson, Chief Executive of Keller, said:

"We are pleased to have completed this purchase of HJ which, by adding a complementary product line, represents an excellent strategic fit with our existing US foundation businesses. We see significant scope for HJ to support Keller's established US businesses to develop CFA piling elsewhere in the US, where the non-residential markets remain good.

"This purchase marks further progress in our strategy of consolidating our global leadership in specialist ground engineering services, through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions."

For further information, please contact:

Keller Group plc Justin Atkinson, Chief Executive 020 7616 7576James Hind, Finance Director Smithfield 020 7360 4900

Rupert Trefgarne/Will Henderson