Acquisition Resources

Severfield-Rowen Plc , the market leading structural steel group, has announced that it has agreed to acquire Action Merchants Limited , the holding company of Fisher Engineering Limited, a constructional steel fabricator. 

In addition, Severfield-Rowen has agreed to acquire Dalton Airfield Estate Limited which owns the long leasehold title to the group's headquarters and the freehold title to a little over half of Severfield-Reeve Structures Limited's fabrication facility, both at Dalton Airfield Industrial Estate.

Severfield-Rowen has agreed to buy AML for a total consideration of approximately £90m, of which £36.6m will be satisfied by the issue of 1,750,000 new shares at approximately 2,089 pence each with the balance in cash.

Fisher Engineering is a leading construction steel fabricator based near Enniskillen, Northern Ireland with a strong client base and focus on delivering high value projects, which will be an excellent fit with Severfield-Rowen.

The Fisher acquisition will extend Severfield-Rowen’s leading market position in the UK and give Severfield-Rowen a stronger presence in the growing Irish steel fabrication market.

Fisher Engineering has a robust order book of good quality business which, together with Severfield-Rowen, gives a current forward order book in excess of £300m for the enlarged group.

Fisher Engineering’s experienced management team will further strengthen the Severfield-Rowen executive management team.

Both the Fisher acquisition and the property acquisition are subject to shareholder approval, with the acquisitions expected to be completed in early Autumn.

Severfield-Rowen Chairman, Peter Levine, commented:"We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Fisher Engineering, a quality business which we respect. With its strong client base, robust order book and focus on good quality business, Fisher Engineering is an excellent fit with Severfield-Rowen. The combination of Severfield-Rowen and Fisher Engineering will increase our scale and further strengthen our offering to clients at a time when we are seeing significant demand for the group’s structural steelwork projects. 

The Fisher acquisition marks the next step in the group’s growth strategy and reflects our confidence in the future underpinned by a combined order book in excess of £300m."

Fisher Engineering Joint Managing Directors, Ian Cochrane and Ernie Fisher, commented: "We are looking forward to joining the Severfield-Rowen group and enjoying the benefits of greater economies of scale and investment. We have known Severfield-Rowen for many years as a respected competitor and now look forward to working with them going forward."