Bridon, British producer of wire rope for bridges, cranes, elevators and mine shafts around the world, is changing ownership once again.
Turnaround specialist Melrose, which acquired Bridon as part of the FKI engineering conglomerate in 2008, has agreed to sell it to a Canadian pension fund – Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan – for £365m.
Bridon began life as British Ropes Ltd in 1924 and became Bridon in 1974 as a contraction of British Ropes and Doncaster, where rope production dates back to 1789. It floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1978 and was bought by FKI in 1997.
Melrose acquired FKI, whose other divisions included Acco and Crosby lifting erquipment, for £1bn in 2008.
Melrose chief executive Simon Peckham said: "Bridon is an excellent example of the Melrose ‘buy, improve, sell’ model at work. It demonstrates our ability to create substantial value for shareholders by investing heavily in our businesses and improving operational performance. Since the acquisition of FKI in 2008, we have successfully grown and developed the Bridon business into a premier supplier of critical high-performance ropes for energy, mining and industrial applications. We have every confidence that Bridon will continue its success under the ownership of OTPP."
