MTL acquired by Cooper Controls

The boards of Cooper Controls (UK) and The MTL Instruments Group announced that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer to acquire MTL. Under the terms of the Offer, MTL Shareholders will receive 708.5 pence in cash for each MTL Share, which values the company at £144 million (US$287 million).

Cooper is a global manufacturer with 2006 revenues of US$5.2 billion, net income of $464 million and approximately 33 percent of sales outside the US. With administrative headquarters in Houston, Cooper employs approximately 31,000 people and operates eight divisions.

Dr Graeme Philp, Chief Executive, MTL said, “We anticipate that Cooper will help us to accelerate our progress towards our goal of being the leading provider of automation networking solutions. In our traditional hazardous area business, the combination of Cooper and MTL will make us one of the strongest global providers of hazardous area protection equipment”.

Kirk Hachigian, Chairman and CEO, Cooper, “We are very excited about this transaction. MTL has a strong history of excellent product quality and building solid customer relationships and we look forward to working with MTL’s management and extended team to jointly drive accelerated sales growth, particularly in the European, Indian, and Asian markets”.