London-listed Spectris snaps up US-based Sciaps in £205m deal

At the end of May, Spectris had a net cash position of £398m.

Precision equipment manufacturer Spectris has agreed a deal to acquire Boston-headquartered Sciaps for $260m (£205m).

The London-listed firm said the transaction, which is still subject to regulatory approval, would be funded by cash with an upfront consideration of $200m (£156.9m) paid on closing. The remaining $60m (£47m) will be paid on the delivery of certain agreed financial metrics.

Andrew Heath, Spectris Chief Executive, said: “Value enhancing M&A is central to our compounding growth strategy.  Sciaps is an excellent business and a great addition to Spectris Scientific, bringing complementary technology and strengthening our offering, including our innovative digital solutions.

“The acquisition will strengthen Spectris’ position in a number of key end markets benefiting from long-term, secular and sustainability growth trends, as well as accelerating sales of Sciaps and Malvern Panalytical’s offerings through each other’s sales and distribution channels.”

At the end of May, Spectris had a net cash position of £398m. The group said it would remain in a net cash position with further balance sheet capacity following the transaction.

Sciaps is a high-growth, specialist provider of handheld instruments used to identify minerals and elements in major industries such as mining, metal recycling and agriculture.

The firm is forecast to deliver sales of $70m (£55m) and adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $12.1m (£9.5m).

Don Sackett, CEO of Sciaps, said: “We are delighted to be joining the Malvern Panalytical business under the Spectris Scientific umbrella.  We bring to the portfolio handheld and laser-based (LIBS) elemental analysis, portable benchtop XRF, with a strong new product pipeline and plug-in capability to Malvern Panalytical’s innovative digital platform.

“This is an exciting combination and Spectris is the perfect partner to maximise the success of our combined capabilities and technologies for customers.”