Industry news6Filtration+Separation April 2008

GE acquires global supplier in filtrationGE Healthcare, a unit of the General Electric Company, has announced that they have reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition of Whatman plc, global supplier of filtration products and technologies.

Under the terms of the transaction, each Whatman shareholder will receive £2.70 in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately US$713 million.) The transaction is subject to approval by Whatman’s shareholders as well as customary regulatory approvals.

The companies believe that the strategic fit between the two businesses will offer substantial customer benefits through

complementary product and service offerings.

Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, commented, “Whatman’s product offerings are highly complementary with our Life Sciences business; we believe that combining the skills and knowledge of the two businesses will create significant added value for our customers. Life sciences is a key area of growth for GE Healthcare and expanding our skill base and product offerings in this area supports our vision of helping our customers to diagnose and treat disease earlier.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Kieran Murphy, CEO of Whatman, said, “Whatman will benefit significantly from the business process expertise within

GE Healthcare and in addition, Whatman’s product opportunities within the pharmaceutical, diagnostic and forensics markets will have a greater chance of success within the larger GE Healthcare group.”

Peter Ehrenheim, president and CEO of GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business, said, “Whatman’s expertise and reputation in filtration technologies and sample preparation is a great fit for our Life Sciences business because it brings new technologies that are fundamental to helping researchers increase their understanding of the role of genes and proteins in disease. We believe that combining the skills of the two companies will enable GE Healthcare to create

strong added value for customers in biomedical and drug discovery research.”

It is intended that the transaction will be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement under UK law. The transaction has been recommended unanimously by the directors of Whatman, who have agreed to vote their shares in favour of the transaction.

The largest shareholder of Whatman is Hermes Focus Asset Management Ltd, with approximately 15% of the outstanding shares of Whatman, and they too have agreed to vote in favour of the transaction. It is expected that the transaction will be completed in the second quarter of 2008.

www.whatman.com

US air company acquisition

CECO Environmental Corp., an Ohio, USA based provider of air pollution control and industrial ventilation systems, has announced that it has agreed to acquire Fisher-Klosterman, Inc. in a transaction involving cash and stock.

Fisher-Klosterman’s businesses consist of producing cyclones, as well as classifiers, electrostatic precipitator parts and services, air filtration equipment, and scrubbers. These products

are utilised for air pollution control and particulate recovery in industries including petroleum refining, power production, petrochemicals, and manufacturing.

The acquisition of Fisher-Klosterman, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky USA, also includes its Buell Division, located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and most significantly, Fisher-Klosterman’s 40,000 sq ft sales and manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China.

Phillip DeZwirek, chairman and chief executive officer, commented, “Fisher-Klosterman had sales last year of US$35.3 million. We expect this acquisition to be accretive to both CECO’s revenues and earnings. We are also excited at acquiring an established platform in China from which not only to produce and sell Fisher-Klosterman products but also the wide variety of CECO’s products and services. CECO intends to actively pursue its

goal of consolidating the air pollution control industry by acquisition as well as adding new planks to our turnkey platform.”

Rick Blum, president and chief operating officer, commented, “We’re delighted to have Fisher-Klosterman as part of the CECO family. They have been our neighbour in Louisville for many years. It is a company we know well and respect.”

www.cecoenviro.com

Fisher Klosterman plant in Louisville, Kentucky.

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