Around the Industry

Grainger to acquire Dutch fasteners distributor for $344 million

W.W. Grainger Inc. plans to buy European fastener distributor Fabory Group for $344 million. Based in the Netherlands, Fabory sells its 80,000 products in 14 countries. It had 2010 revenue of about $300 million. According to a press release announcing the acquisition, Grainger said it plans for Fabory to continue to operate as a separate business, keeping its name and brand.

Anixter to sell Aerospace division to Greenbriar Equity

Anixter International Inc., Glenview, Ill., plans to sell its Aerospace Hardware Division to entities controlled by Greenbriar Equity Group LLC. Under the terms of the agreement, Anixter will receive $155 million in cash, subject to a net working capital adjustment, and up to an additional $30 million if certain milestones are achieved.

“Despite the fact that Aerospace has historically delivered operating margins in excess of our corporate average, current high working capital requirements have impacted its return on tangible capital compared to our other businesses. Therefore, this division is no longer strategically aligned with our overall business,” said Anixter President and CEO Robert Eck. “Given Greenbriar's significant focus in the aerospace sector, we are confident it will be a strong and supportive partner for the aerospace business and build upon its solid market position under new ownership.”

Nexans wins turnkey contract for offshore wind farm

Wire and cable manufacturer Nexans, Paris, France, won a contract by the project developer Offshore-Windpark RIFFGAT GmbH & Co. KG, which is owned by Enova and EWE ENERGIE, to supply and install the infield submarine power cables and ancillary equipment for the Riffgat offshore wind farm currently under construction 15 km northwest of the German island of Borkum. The Riffgat wind farm, covering an area of 6 square kilometres, will comprise 30 wind turbines providing a peak capacity of 108 MW. The Nexans facility in Hannover, Germany will design and manufacture just over 24 km of 33 kV XLPE submarine infield cables to interconnect the wind turbines and to link them to the offshore transformer substation.