By Michael Calia
Clarcor Inc. (CLC) on Tuesday said it agreed to buy the air
filtration business from General Electric Co.'s (GE) power and
water division for about $265 million.
Clarcor, based in Franklin, Tenn., said the deal augments its
core filtration business by broadening its portfolio with access to
several new technologies.
"With this transaction, Clarcor will become a leading designer
and supplier of air inlet filtration products for natural gas
turbines, a business we believe is poised for long-term growth as
the world continues to shift toward natural gas as its energy
source of choice," Chairman and Chief Executive Christopher L.
Conway said.
The air filtration business--which has its headquarters in
Overland Park, Kan., and manufacturing operations in Missouri, the
U.K. and China--will continue to supply gas turbine air inlet
filtration systems and filters to GE over the course of a multiyear
agreement, Clarcor said.
The business has more than 700 employees worldwide and annual
revenue of about $230 million.
For GE's part, Victor Abate, the chief of the company's power
generation segment, said the unit is "focused on our core gas
turbine technology, and we have made the strategic decision to
simplify the business to better match our core strengths."
The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.
Shares of Clarcor were inactive premarket. The stock closed
Monday at $58.43 and is up 22% so far this year.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com
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