Kaman Corp. [KAMN] yesterday said it has acquired Brookhouse Holdings, Ltd., a United Kingdom-based designer and manufacturer of composite aerostructures, aerospace tooling and repair services for $85.1 million in cash, in a deal that fits with its goals to expand and diversify its Aerostructures Segment.
“Brookhouse has developed a reputation as a leading edge technology composites company, has solid growth prospects, and brings with it strong relationships with prime manufacturers in both the military and commercial markets,” Neil Keating, Kaman’s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. “The acquisition accelerates the Aerostructures segment’s overall growth, further diversifies our platform positions in both the military and commercial markets, and significantly enhances our position in the higher-growth markets for composite structures. Most importantly, Brookhouse brings with it a strong management team and dedicated employees skilled in aerospace design and manufacturing.”
Brookhouse, which has about 450 employees, had $54.9 million in sales in its latest fiscal year. Kaman said the acquisition will be neutral to earnings this year and slightly accretive in 2009.
Just over half of Brookhouse’s sales are in the military market. Sales to original equipment manufacturers account for two-thirds of total sales and the rest are in aftermarket services.
In the composites business area, Brookhouse has developed a proprietary out of autoclave resin infusion process that it uses on programs for Airbus and Boeing [BA]. The company’s business base in composites includes the Airbus A320, A330/340 aircraft, the United States Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and Eurofighter.
Brookhouse also designs and makes composite molding and assembly tooling for the aerospace industry. The company’s aftermarket services primarily support U.K. military platforms for repair, reverse engineering and sheet metal details and assemblies for aircraft such as the Tornado, Harrier and Hawk.
Brookhouse’s senior management team will stay on with Kaman.