Glasgow-based engineering firm Weir Group has announced plans to purchase US company ESCO Corporation for over £747 million

The news came as the company also revealed it was selling its Flow Control division

Based in Portland, Oregon, ESCO is a global market leader in highly engineered GET for surface mining and construction. Across the globe, it owns 10 manufacturing facilities, six foundries and 22 service and supply centres in 19 countries around the world, with its core strength in North America representing 52% of its revenue.

Weir Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jon Stanton said: "Today we are announcing an important development of our portfolio as we focus on building on our core strengths in Minerals and Oil & Gas.


"With ESCO we’ll be joined by a world-class team and add another leading global brand.  Together, Weir Minerals and ESCO will create a unique customer proposition as the premium provider of mission critical surface mining solutions from extraction to concentration, built on proprietary technology, superior wear life and supported by an unrivalled service network.

"The acquisition meets our near-term financial criteria before we pursue the revenue opportunities from bringing ESCO products into new markets through our global network We are acquiring a high quality business at the right time, with the market in the early stages of its recovery, providing opportunities for long-term growth.

"We intend to initiate a process to sell Flow Control to reallocate capital to build further on our core platforms."

ESCO Chairman and CEO, Cal Collins, added: "The foundation of our business for more than 100 years has been delivering value-added proprietary solutions through a proud tradition of quality and customer-driven innovation.

"This merger is exciting for ESCO as it combines two premium brands and positions us to better serve our customers around the world.  The merger of ESCO into Weir is also a great fit, both culturally and strategically."

(LM)