Sulzer allows management buyout of SLM
Three Sulzer executives have taken over the former SLM (Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works) manufacturing business. The management buyout means that Sulzer has divested the final part of SLM's business, 40 years after taking it over.
The new company, called Winpro, will be an independent supplier to the rolling stock and machine building industry. It will keep its headquarters in Winterthur and take on all of the existing 135 Sulzer employees.
The Winpro divestiture fits in with Sulzer’s strategy of focusing on selected core businesses. Sulzer had already announced in August 1999 that the business would be divested from Sulzer Industries by the end of 2001.
No financial details were released on the deal.
Sulzer has traditionally been tight-lipped about its divestments, but it now says it will give details of planned spin-offs. The statement follows a hostile takeover bid by a company called InCentive Capital.
Sulzer disclosed that it expects to make some SFr400 million ($236 million) after tax from the sale of some of its businesses. It added that it values its real estate, which it plans to sell off, at between SFr350 and SFr450 million after tax.
Sulzer also plans to spin-off its 74 per cent stake in medical devices group Sulzer Medica. After the spin-off, it said it would still have 443,940 shares in Medica.
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