Position in Spain strengthened through acquisitions

Gouda - Imtech (technical services provider in Europe) announces that it has strengthened its position and portfolio in Spain through the acquisition of the Spanish electrotechnical specialists Huguet Levante and Huguet Mantenimiento. Combined, these two companies employ 245 people and in 2008, they realised a total revenue of over 20 million euro. The acquisition sum is based on approximately five times the average EBITA for 2008 and 2009 and will be paid in cash. The acquisition will make an immediate contribution to the profit per share.

Imtech CEO René van der Bruggen considers the acquisitions as a logical next step in Spain: ‘Until the year before last, Imtech in Spain was primarily active in the fields of mechanical process technology and air and climate technology. In strategic terms, we would like to expand our portfolio with electrical services. After all, in Spain - as in other European countries - our objective is to offer total technical solutions via the combination of electrical and mechanical services. We took the first step last year by the acquisition of the first electrotechnical Huguet company as well as by offering autonomously initiated electrotechnical services. With the acquisition of both other electrotechnical Huguet companies, we will be taking the next step, which will contribute to further growth. Imtech has already proven in a large number of European countries that this strategy is successful and leads to growth.’

Company profiles of Huguet Levante and Huguet Mantenimiento
Huguet Levante is an electrotechnical specialist working in the fields of low and medium voltage, fire detection and innovative cabling. The focus lies mainly on hospitals and the care sector, but in addition, the company is active in universities, offices, hotels, shopping centres and schools. Huguet Mantenimiento is an electrical and mechanical maintenance specialist with a strong focus on the public sector, working for clients like regional governments, municipalities and energy companies. In addition, the company also works for universities and hospitals. The majority of the activities involve long-term maintenance contracts.

Growth in the Valencia region
Both acquired companies are operating in the Valencia and Murcia regions, where Imtech already enjoys a good regional position as a strong player in the mechanical sector. In one fell swoop, the bundling of activities will make Imtech a strong regional multidisciplinary (both electrical and mechanical) player with a broad range of activities with a good spread across new construction and technical maintenance and management in a large number of sectors. The objective is further growth through synergy, cross-selling between electrical and mechanical services and the offering of higher added value.

Total solutions
In Spain, Imtech is one of the larger players in the technical services sector. Imtech can rely on strong positions in both the industrial and buildings sectors. The focus primarily lies on technical processes in the field of mechanical engineering, but Imtech is increasingly active with activities in the areas of electrical engineering and instrumentation. Last year, an autonomous competence centre was established to facilitate this. In addition, at the end of December 2008, Imtech acquired the first part of the electrotechnical player Huguet, which is active in the regions Madrid, Barcelona and Navarra. The present acquisition of the two other electrotechnical Huguet companies ties in seamlessly with this. The strategic objective is that in Spain, Imtech will develop further into a complete technical services provider that offers comprehensive technical solutions on the basis of national coverage.