Senior plc acquires Weston EU

Senior plc ("Senior") is pleased to announce that it has acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Weston EU Limited and its subsidiary Weston SEA Limited (collectively "Weston" or the "Weston Group") from the company's family shareholders.

Weston, located in Colne, Lancashire (UK) and with facilities in Chonburi in Thailand, is principally a manufacturer of precision machined parts and assemblies for the commercial aerospace industry.  The facilities in Thailand are well situated, within one hour's drive of Bangkok and close to the main port of Sriracha, and were unaffected by the recent floods.

Weston specialises in the machining and assembly of aerofoils, aluminium and hard metal structural parts and premium aircraft-seat structures.  Its largest customers are Rolls-Royce, Spirit Aerosystems (Europe) and Contour Aerospace.  Weston has content on each of the Airbus A320 family, A330, A350 and A380 platforms, either on the engines or the aircraft structure itself.  More than 70% of Weston's revenue for the first ten months of 2011 was derived either directly or indirectly from Airbus commercial aircraft platforms.  Over the past year, Airbus has announced build-rate increases for all of these aircraft types and, consequently, the future prospects for Weston appear highly encouraging.

The total consideration for the purchase of Weston was £54.0m, plus reimbursement of the cash in the Weston business at acquisition.  The purchase consideration was paid in cash at completion, with a small potential adjustment to be made after completion dependent upon the level of working capital in the business at the date of acquisition.  The transaction was funded through the utilisation of existing cash and debt facilities.

For the year to 31 December 2010, the Weston Group reported sales of £42.5m and profit before interest, tax and depreciation of £4.2m.  The unaudited management accounts of the business for the ten months to the end of October 2011 show sales of £45.4m and profit before interest, tax and depreciation of £5.0m.  Gross assets of the business are approximately £23.5m.  The existing management team will continue to manage the business which will operate within Senior's Aerospace Structures Division.  The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Rollins, Senior Group Chief Executive, said:

"I am very pleased to announce the acquisition of Weston and to welcome all of its employees to the Senior Group.  Weston represents an excellent strategic addition to Senior's Aerospace Structures Division, with Weston's European and Asian locations, and predominantly Airbus exposure, providing an excellent complementary fit with the Structures Division's existing North American, and largely Boeing, footprint.

Weston has a well established reputation in the aerospace industry and its capabilities, combined with Senior's wider market access and financial strength, and the current healthy commercial aerospace markets, are expected to further enhance the future growth prospects for the Senior Group."