AGGREKO chief executive Chris Weston has sealed an £18 million acquisition less than a month after announcing the company was in the market for deals.
The former Centrica director unveiled his plans for Aggreko, which he joined in January, at the start of last month following a wide ranging strategic review.
As part of that he confirmed a desire to look at bolt-on acquisitions and the Glasgow company has now struck an agreement to buy Canadian mobile heating and temperature control supplier ICS Group.
Investors appeared to like the move as shares in Aggreko edged up by as much as two per cent in early trading.
Aggreko said the deal will help it to establish itself in the heating market in North America as well as move into key cities such as Calgary and Winnipeg.
Mr Weston said: “The acquisition of ICS enhances our temperature control business in North America and gives our customers an unparalleled range of equipment and service options.
“Temperature control products are used extensively in our target sectors and benefit our core business as they generally require associated power.
“[This] announcement underlines Aggreko's clear commitment to deliver growth both organically and through bolt-on acquisitions."
Aggreko said it plans to integrate ICS Group into its existing business in western Canada before then targeting further expansion across North America.
ICS Group, which has its headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, along with offices in Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, was said to have revenue of £8.9m in the 12 months to July this year.
All 60 staff at the firm, said to be the largest independent portable climate control business in Canada, are expected to transfer over as part of the transaction.
Aggreko said it is acquiring more than 2,100 pieces of rental fleet through the deal. Those will eventually be transferred into its rental solutions division.
ICS Group operates in sectors including construction, events and oil and gas.
It also provides equipment to help dry out buildings or sites which have been damaged by flood or fire.
Mr Weston last month unveiled his strategy for growing Aggreko which involved an £80m cost cutting drive and the loss of around 600 jobs.
He also outlined plans to improve skills across the company in order to deliver more complex projects as well as looking to enhance its technology to reduce costs for customers.
That includes overhauling its generator fleet to use more efficient gas engines as well as other types of fuel.
Mr Weston believes the changes will help Aggreko grow ahead of its market over the next five years.
That strategy announcement came as the business recorded a 21 per cent fall in profits from £130m to £102m for the first six months of this year.
Profits were hit by weaker oil and gas markets in North America, a lower than expected renewal price on a contract in Bangladesh and ongoing security problems in Yemen affecting the utilisation of generators installed there.
Revenue for the January to June period, excluding fuel, edged up one per cent from £745m to £752m although on an underlying basis it was down two per cent.
At that time Mr Weston said acquisitions would most likely be around bringing in new capabilities or be adjacent to services Aggreko already provides, such as temperature control.
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