Voith has signed an agreement with Spectris plc to acquire BTG for a total gross cash consideration of €319 million. With BTG, a multinational provider of integrated, highly specialized process solutions for the global pulp and paper industry, Voith strengthens its position as full-line supplier.
The transaction is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of 2019. The closing is subject to the company obtaining all regulatory approvals as well as other customary closing conditions.
“BTG and Voith together have 250 years of technological experience in the global paper industry. This strategic step will bring many advantages for the entire industry. With BTG, we found an ideal match to complement our portfolio and get the chance to add a high-performing company with widely recognized expertise in the pulp and paper market. This helps us to expand our competitive position as a full-line supplier for the paper industry in the areas of consumables, instruments, services and software,” states Toralf Haag, President & CEO of the Voith Group.
BTG offers a high-value portfolio of optimized and customized solutions for a range of applications, mainly in the areas of packaging, graphic papers and tissue. Among these are beds and rods for film-metering size presses, high-performance ceramic and cermet coating blades, and pulp and paper process control sensors and laboratory instruments. All of these technologies are supported with expert services and application support. Furthermore, BTG is a decisive partner in the digital transformation of the pulp and paper industry with its offerings in the areas of data analytics, automation and software. It will therefore add value to Voith’s Papermaking 4.0 portfolio.
“We are excited about this opportunity. Voith is a well respected player in the paper industry and our offering is highly complementary to theirs. As part of the Voith Group, we will be able to offer our employees and our customers more opportunities, supporting BTG growth and allowing us to realise our full potential”, says Rob Crossman, BTG CEO.
