Wire manufacturer to merge into £430m-turnover global player
WIRE and rope manufacturer Bridon is to be merged into a new £430-turnover joint venture business.
The Bridon Bekaert Ropes Group will combine the ropes and advanced cords capabilities of almost 3,000 employees working at 19 manufacturing entities in 11 countries.
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which bought Bridon in a £365m deal 14 months ago, will own one-third of the new group with Bekaert holding the remaining two-thirds.
Bekaert’s chief financial officer Bruno Humblet will become chief executive of Bridon Bekaert Ropes Group, while Bridon’s non-executive chairman Andrew Caffyn has been appointed chairman of the board.
The group will be formed out of the Bekaert’s advanced cords and ropes businesses in Latin America, Canada and Australia, and the whole of Bridon, which has a strong presence in Europe and the USA with its portfolio of rope wire, strand and steel and synthetic ropes. It is expected the merger will also create opportunities for further growth in Asia.
Doncaster-headquartered Bridon will contribute about 60% of the new group’s £430m annual revenues along with its 1,600 employees. Its three UK manufacturing sites at Doncaster, Newcastle and Coatbridge, near Glasgow, are part of the 11 Bridon sites across the world that will transfer over.
Bridon, which manufactures wire and ropes for the construction, mining and energy sectors, was founded in 1924 from an amalgamation of wire rope producers, the earliest of which dates back to the late 18th century.
The merger will require regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the first half of 2016. Both businesses will operate separately and continue to serve their customers autonomously until the deal closes.
