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The acquisition of vacuum pump specialist Edwards Group by Swedish industrial conglomerate Atlas Copco has been completed, and will provide the historic British company with a secure, well-funded future, its new owner has said.
Edwards, which can trace its origins back 100 years, is based in Crawley, West Sussex, and employs several hundred engineers at sites across the UK. It was previously backed by private equity cash.
Atlas Copco agreed to buy the company in the summer of last year, citing it as a technology leader with a strong customer focus. Now that the deal has been signed off, Edwards will form part of Atlas Copco’s vacuum solutions division in the compressor technology part of the business.
Divisional president Geert Follens said that Edwards would thrive within the Atlas Copco stable. “This is an all-cash deal from our own funds, improving Edwards’ balance sheet and putting it in a healthier position with no debt,” he said.
Alluding to Edwards’ private equity background, Follens added: “Staff have told me they are happy to be part of an engineering group rather than a banking company. It’s more like owning the house rather than having a mortgage.”
Edwards’ technical activities, including research and development, are carried out at Crawley and at Burgess Hill, also in West Sussex. Follens said Atlas Copco was committed to the UK, and there were “no plans or hidden agenda” to transfer any of these activites to lower-cost nations.
“The structure of the business works well,” he said.
Follens said that due diligence on the Edwards deal had shown the company had a strong innovative core that would quickly lead to new product development. “Indeed, there are some new product developments that are already in the final phase of testing with customers,” he said.