Judges Scientific, the group focused on acquiring and developing companies in the scientific instrument sector, has acquired Geotek Holding Limited and Geotek Coring Limited (together Geotek), a Northamptonshire-based developer and manufacturer of instruments used to measure and log various characteristics of geological cores and a supplier of related services.
The total consideration for Geotek is up to a maximum of £80 million plus excess cash, consisting of an initial cash consideration of £45 million, paid on completion and further contingent consideration of up to £35 million to be satisfied through a mixture of cash and new ordinary shares in the company.
The cash consideration for the acquisition is being financed from a new £100 million club facility led by Lloyds Banking Group alongside Santander UK and Bank of Ireland.
Geotek specialises in high resolution, non-destructive analysis of geological cores to enable university researchers, mining companies and oil and gas operators to analyse, record and digitise information about cores they have extracted, through its proprietary range of Multi Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) instruments.
Geotek comprises three divisions of broadly similar sizes consisting of: an instrument development and manufacturing business (Instruments), a core logging service business (MSCL services), and a gas hydrate business (Coring).
Alex Hambro, chairman of Judges, said: “This is the group’s twentieth, and largest, acquisition. Geotek is a world leading business in a focused global niche, providing top-quality products and services which are essential for the improvement of geophysical knowledge.
“This cash generative and earnings enhancing acquisition fits within Judges’ disciplined acquisition strategy and we are delighted to welcome Peter, Quentin and Tony and all their colleagues to the Judges family.”
