2002 Press Releases
17/12/2002
Acquisition of Mckinney Drilling Company, placing to raise £5.1m and trading update
Keller Group plc ("Keller") is pleased to announce today the acquisition by Keller Foundations Inc. ("KFI"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keller, of McKinney Drilling Company ("McKinney"), a leading provider of drilled shaft caissons in the Eastern United States, for an initial consideration of approximately US$26m (£17m) and maximum deferred consideration of US$24m (£15m) dependent on McKinney's results in the two years ended 31 December 2004. The initial consideration will be satisfied by a fully underwritten placing to raise approximately £5.1 million (the "Placing") after costs, with the balance from an extension of existing bank facilities. In addition, Keller is also announcing an update on trading for the year to 31 December 2002 and prospects for the Group for 2003. Highlights: - acquisition of McKinney, a leading provider of drilled shaft caissons in the Eastern United States, for an initial consideration of US$26 million (£17 million)
- the acquisition consolidates further Keller's position as the leading provider of foundation services in the US
- the transaction is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing* and is asset-backed
- initial consideration to be satisfied by a placing of 2,215,000 shares at 240p per share and the extension of existing bank facilities
- the Board is confident of reporting in March 2003 results for the current financial year marginally ahead of its previous expectations with increased margins and strong operating cash flow
- the Group's order book as at 30 November 2002 stood at around four months' sales, providing the basis for a positive start to 2003
A presentation for analysts and investors to discuss today's announcement will be held today at 9.45 a.m. for 10.00 a.m. at the offices of Weber Shandwick Square Mile, Fox Court, 14 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8WS. Tom Dobson, Chief Executive of Keller, commented: "The acquisition of McKinney represents an excellent opportunity to acquire a high margin, well-established business at an attractive price and consolidate further Keller's position as the leading provider of foundation services in the US by adding complementary strength and scope to our existing operations there." "The transaction is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing*, is asset-backed and is expected to enable Keller to increase further its already sector leading margins." *Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast or be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of Keller for the current year or future years will necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of Keller. For further information contact: | Keller Group plc | www.keller.co.uk | | Tom Dobson, Chief Executive | | | Justin Atkinson, Finance Director | 020 8341 6424
| |  | | Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
| | | Robert Petch | 020 7623 8000 | | | | Weber Shandwick | Square Mile | | | Reg Hoare/Laurence Read/Josh Royston | 020 7950 2883 |
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