KMT divests a large share of Pullmax to Bystronic

KMT has signed an agreement with the Swiss machine tool maker Bystronic regarding the divestment of a large share of Pullmax, which belongs to KMT’s product area Sheet Metal Working. The deal comprises the two sales companies active on the UK/Irish and Scandinavian markets and includes the agencies for Bystronic’s own products in UK and Scandinavia, which since the mid 1980s have been held by KMT.

The Pullmax Group has annual turnover of around SEK 330 million, of which the two sales companies account for around SEK 290 million. Pullmax’ remaining business – Pullmax Machine AB and remaining subsidiaries – has an annual turnover of about SEK 70 million, of which around SEK 30 million will be marketed by Bystronic on the mentioned markets going forward. Pullmax Machine engages around 50 persons. The transaction will be effected as of 1 January 2005. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase-price. In addition to its own products, Pullmax has acted as a reseller of Swiss Bystronic’s laser- and waterjet cutting machines. During 2004 Bystronic’s agency products accounted for a large part of Pullmax’ turnover on the UK/Irish and Scandinavian markets, which thus makes Bystronic a natural buyer of these businesses. ”Bystronic’s strategy is to own its sales channels on all larger markets. Considering that Bystronic’s products account for the majority of Pullmax sales in Scandinavia and UK it is quite natural that Bystronic now takes the ownership responsibility for these sales businesses”, says Bystronic’s CEO Ferdi Töngi. ”Pullmax has a strong offering within advanced solutions for punching machines which well complements Bystronic’s product range. The deal with Bystronic will enable Pullmax to fully concentrate on development, marketing and sales of punching machines and fully automated systems”, says Lars Bergström, KMT’s CEO. For the KMT Group, the capital gain is estimated to SEK 10 million after tax. Consideration has been taken for the estimated costs to adapt the operations within Pullmax Machine. The divestment implies a reduced turnover of SEK 260 million annually and, excluding the mentioned capital gain, the Group profit will be somewhat negatively affected during 2005. Cash flow-wise, a positive net flow is expected. The divestment improves the Group’s solidity. For further information, please contact: Lars Bergström, CEO Karolin Machine Tool AB +46 8 594 211 50 or via e-mail: lars.bergstrom@kmt.se Ferdi Töngi, CEO and President of Bystronic +41 62 956 36 80 Facts about Bystronic Bystronic is a worldwide active supplier of high-quality solutions for the economical processing of sheet metal, other sheet materials and tubes. Customers profit from application-oriented systems and services for laser and waterjet cutting processes as well as bending. The Swiss company with its headquarters in Niederönz (in the Swiss canton of Berne), employed in 2003 a staff of some 1,100 and achieved translated revenues of euro 250 million. Bystronic is a member of Conzzeta Holding, a Swiss financial holding company with activities in the fields of machinery and engineering, consumer and industrial products, foam and building materials, sporting goods and real estate. The companies of the Conzzeta Group employed a staff in excess of 2,800 in 2003 and achieved translated revenues of approximately euro 607 million.