Aust. firm sells to Kidd Garrett

Press, 19 September 1985, Page 38

Aust. firm sells to Kidd Garrett

PA Wellington An engineering supplies company, Kidd Garrett Holdings, Ltd, has acquired the Australian engineering and industrial supplies company of Scruttons, Ltd, for a cash sum of about $4.5M. The purchase has been approved by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board, of the Aucklandbased Kidd Garrett said. It said it had purchased the assets and business of Scruttons from Martin Bright Steels, Ltd, of Sydney, an Australian Stock Exchange-listed company involved in steel distribution. Martin Bright acquired Scruttons in 1981 for a capital outlay of about sAusts.7 million. At that time, Martin Bright’s interest lay in Scruttons’ steel distribution and machine tool operations which it saw as complementary to its own operations. Scruttons, following some restructuring, withdrew from its steel distribution and machine tools activities and has since been trading primarily in engineering

supplies, an industry segment in which Kidd Garrett enjoys a significant market share in New Zealand. Recently, Scruttons moved its base from Mascot to new premises in Lidcombe, the industrial heart of Sydney. Commenting on the acquisition of Scruttons, Mr John Clifford, general manager and a director of Kidd Garrett, said: “This acquisition of an engineering supplies company in Australia with similar interests and a relatively similar product distribution operation to that of Kidd Garrett is a most significant and important move for us. “We have been searching for such an acquisition for some time. This Australian company meets our criteria and gives us opportunities for continuing growth.” Mr Clifford said that, while Scruttons had had a few problems in the past, the company had a bright future following the move to new premises, restructuring and the selection of a strong management team. “The purchase price re-

fleets Scruttons past performance and future earnings potential,” he said. “Despite the company being in Australia, we have long-established informal links with Scruttons and share common agencies.” The acquisition of Scruttons would represent, in annual gross revenue, about one-third of the combined operations of Kidd Garrett and Scruttons in Australia and New Zealand.