GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pentair, Inc.
(NYSE: PNR) announced today it has completed the sale of its Tools Group to
The Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) of Towson, Maryland, for
approximately $775 million.
"The sale of our Tools Group to Black & Decker completes the
transformation of Pentair into a diversified manufacturer led by a $2 billion
water business," said Randall J. Hogan, Pentair chairman and chief executive
officer. "With all of our resources focused on the Water and Enclosures
groups, we are now a stronger, more agile company with greater ability to
achieve aggressive performance goals."
Pentair said that the proceeds from the sale of the Tools Group, together
with borrowings from its existing revolving credit facility, were used to pay
down the $850 million bridge loan associated with Pentair's July 31, 2004
acquisition of WICOR Industries. With the retirement of the bridge loan,
Pentair's total debt to capital ratio drops below 40 percent, in line with
Pentair's goals.
"We are executing our integration plans to achieve an estimated
$30 million in net cost savings within the first full year," Hogan said. "We
will continue to implement best practices to drive organic growth, to deliver
innovative products and systems, and to further strengthen the brands,
products and customer relationships that have been the cornerstones of success
at Pentair and WICOR."
Hogan added that the integration activities to date have further
strengthened his confidence in the combined businesses, including the
capabilities of the management teams, the strong brand names, and the
collective product offerings.
"We are aggressively pursuing opportunities to use our expanded scale,
geographic breadth, and knowledge of the water markets to advance our global
leadership position," Hogan said. "Our enhanced ability to provide
competitively priced, high-quality products, increased customer
responsiveness, and accelerated development of innovative new products gives
us a significant advantage in achieving this goal."
Pentair said it is applying its strong cash flow to continue paying down
debt and invest in its businesses for growth.
"Even while the integration of the former WICOR businesses is underway, we
are capturing new organic growth in both our Water and Enclosures groups,"
Hogan said. "We will also continue to pursue opportunities to acquire
additional water- or enclosures-related enterprises."
Pentair will report earnings for the third quarter of 2004 on Tuesday,
October 26. A conference call scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CDT that day will be
webcast live via http://www.pentair.com . A link to the conference call will
be posted on the site's "Financial Information" page and will be archived at
the same location.
About Pentair, Inc.
Pentair ( http://www.pentair.com ) is a diversified operating company
headquartered in Minnesota. Its Water Group is a global leader in providing
innovative products and systems used worldwide in the movement, treatment,
storage and enjoyment of water. Pentair's Enclosures Group is a leader in the
global enclosures market, designing and manufacturing standard, modified and
custom enclosures that house and protect sensitive electronics and electrical
components. With 2003 revenues of $2.7 billion, Pentair has more than 13,000
employees worldwide.
Any statements made about the company's anticipated financial results are
forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties such as
continued economic growth; the ability to integrate the WICOR acquisition
successfully and the risk that expected synergies may not be fully realized or
may take longer to realize than expected; foreign currency effects; retail and
industrial demand; product introductions; and pricing and other competitive
pressures. Forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date
hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update publicly such
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Actual results
could differ materially from anticipated results.
Contact:
Pentair: Mark Cain
Tel. (763) 656-5278
E-mail: mark.cain@pentair.com
SOURCE Pentair, Inc.