Cardo acquires P C Henderson - the UK's leading manufacturer of residential garage doors

Cardo acquires P C Henderson - the UK's leading manufacturer of residential garage doors Cardo has acquired all shares in P C Henderson Ltd from the British group Hepworth PLC. Henderson is the UK's market leading manufacturer of residential garage doors. The company has about 325 employees, and turnover in 1999 amounted to approximately GBP 23.6 million. This acquisition, which is part of the business area Cardo Door's strategy for continued growth in the residential garage door segment, further strengthens Cardo Door's position as the third largest supplier of residential garage doors in the European market. "We shall now be the leading manufacturer of residential garage doors in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland, markets where we have so far been a minor player," says Cardo's president and CEO Kjell Svensson. Henderson is a well run and profitable company that was founded in 1921. Besides its main plant in Bowburn, County Durham in North Eastern England, it has subsidiaries in Ireland and in the Netherlands. Customers include the biggest distributors in the market for residential garage doors. In 1999, Henderson's turnover was approximately GBP 23.6 million and its earnings after financial items amounted to GBP 2.3 million. The purchase price for the shares amounts to GBP 9.8 million. Goodwill as a result of the transaction is preliminarily estimated at slightly more than GBP 6 million. "With our focus on residential garage doors, dock loading systems and service in recent years, Cardo Door's business has changed considerably. Residential garage doors currently account for about a quarter of Cardo Door's turnover, and industrial doors, which previously dominated operations, account for less than half. That means that we have gradually reduced our dependence on the trend for industrial new construction in Europe," declares Kjell Svensson. Cardo Door, which has a turnover of more than GBP 290 million, is a business area in the Cardo group and one of the world's largest manufacturers of industrial doors and Europe's leading supplier of dock loading equipment. In addition, Cardo Door is the market leader in the service of these products and one of Europe's largest manufacturers of residential garage doors. The acquisition is expected to have a marginally positive effect on Cardo group earnings during the year 2000. Malmö, Sweden, February 16 2000 Cardo AB (publ) For further information, please contact: Kjell Svensson, President and CEO, Cardo AB, phone +46 40 35 04 53, +46 40 35 04 00 Sven-Erik Persson, Executive Vice President, phone +46 40 35 04 50, +46 40 35 04 00 Christer Roskvist, Head of Public Relations, phone +46 40 35 04 25, +46 40 35 04 00 Cardo is an international engineering group with a turnover of more than SEK 9 billion. Cardo holds a strong position in the markets for doors, pumps and rail-vehicle brake systems. Cardo has subsidiaries in about 30 countries with the focal point resting in western Europe, and roughly 7,400 employees. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/02/16/20000216BIT00070/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/02/16/20000216BIT00070/bit0002.pdf