Smiths Group plc divests hydrodynamic bearings business to Miba AG

Livingstone’s Industrial sector team advised Smiths Group plc on the divestment of John Crane’s Bearings business to Miba AG, a privately owned Austrian-based manufacturer of highly engineered components, sold to a variety of end markets globally.

John Crane’s Bearings business comprises two US companies and one German company across four sites (three US and one German) specializing in the manufacture and maintenance of hydrodynamic bearings for leading international customers in the power generation, oil & gas, and general industrial markets.

This divestment is part of Smiths Group plc’s ongoing corporate strategy to concentrate their portfolio on scalable, market-leading positions in the Group’s chosen markets. The proceeds will be reinvested in attractive growth opportunities for Smith Group plc.

James Mortensen, M&A Director at Smiths Group plc, commented: “Their experience, straightforward approach and seamless interplay between the cross-border team made Livingstone a great team to work with; and their hard work was much appreciated.”

“Our Global Industrial team ran a tight process with buyers from Asia, Europe, and the US to reach another successful carve-out transaction,” added Andrew Isgrig, Partner at Livingstone. “We are excited for the John Crane Bearings team as they join Miba to help grow its Industrial Bearings division. This multi-jurisdictional carve-out demonstrates Livingstone’s execution excellence on complex global carve-outs for multinational industrial clients.”

The completion of this transaction further reinforces Livingstone’s position as advisers of choice to companies in the industrials sector, following the divestment of Morgan Advanced Materials plc’s UK Electro Ceramics business and marks the second transaction for Smiths following the previous divestment of the Group’s Specac division.