Shares in Scottish engineering specialist Weir Group rose on Wednesday as the company splashed out £55 million to bolster its presence in the global mining and oil sands markets.
The company said it had acquired the R Wales Group, a Canadian-based manufacturer of wear-resistant linings, as well as the Cheong Foundry near the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
The Glasgow-based firm which turned over more than £2.2bn in 2011 and which has 14,000 staff in 70 countries also said it had reached agreement to acquire the plant, equipment and buildings of Xmeco Foundry, a specialist large casting foundry in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Subject to regulatory approvals, that deal is expected to go through by May.
Weir said the two foundries were well placed to service the growing mining markets in Africa and the Asia-Pacific.
Both facilities supply casting to a number of industries in the region, and Weir said the Xmeco foundry would allow it to expand its capacity on the African continent to the extent it could produce a full range of its products there for the first time.
The R Wales deal is perhaps the most significant on a short-term basis, with Weir saying it expected the company to start adding to its bottom line immediately.
The group which turned over more than £19m last year and has operations in British Columbia and Ontario, as well as a US facility in Arizona specialises in custom rubber and urethane-moulded products, including slurry pump parts and mill liners.
Weir chief executive Keith Cochrane said: “The R Wales Group and the Cheong and Xmeco foundries enhance the group’s presence in important growth markets.
“The Wales Group develops our after-market offering in the minerals and oil sands sectors, while the Cheong and Xmeco foundries expand our low-cost capacity in the fast-growing regions of Asia-Pacific and Africa, enabling us to deliver quality products more quickly to our customers.”
Weir Group shares closed up 13 at 2,188p.