Candover sells Airtechnology

Candover has agreed to sell Airtechnology, a UK-based supplier of motors, fans and environmental control systems for the aerospace and defence markets, to listed US firm, AMETEK. The deal provides a partial exit from Candover’s investment in Charter plc. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Airtechnology was one of three businesses that formed the majority of the specialised engineering division of Charter plc. Candover backed the £194 million buyout of the group in November 1999, investing £88 million of equity from its 1997 fund. A month later the firm sold Nederman, which manufactures equipment to improve workspace environments, to private equity investor EQT. The third company, Pandrol, which designs and manufactures rail fastenings, remains part of Candover’s portfolio.

Airtechnology produces motors and fans for equipment cooling systems and for maintaining environmental integrity. Environmental integrity includes temperature control systems as well as filtration systems for nuclear, biological and chemical contamination. These products are sold primarily to the commercial and military aerospace markets, the military vehicle and ship markets, and the rail transportation market. The company has about 240 employees and expected sales of approximately £29 million.

AMETEK manufactures electronic instruments and electric motors and has annual sales of more than $1 billion. Its Electromechanical Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of electric motors and blowers for the floor-care industry and a leader in brushless air-moving motors for aerospace, business machine, mass transit, medical, and computer markets with annual sales of approximately $500 million.