Smiths Interconnect buys US connector firm

The all-cash purchase of Kansas City-based Interconnect Devices, Inc. from Milestone Partners, a Pennsylvania-based private equity firm, is subject to regulatory approval in the US and is expected to complete in early April. The acquisition, expected to be immediately earnings accretive, will be funded primarily from internal resources, reflecting strong cash generation in the first half of fiscal 2010 supported by the receipt of proceeds from surplus properties. IDI employs around 560 people, more than half at its Suzhou plant in China, and runs a specialist engineering centre in Gilbert, Arizona. It is expected to generate sales of almost $80m in the first full year of ownership and deliver strong margins.