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Plainville, Connecticut - September 10, 2001- GE Industrial Systems,
a division of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), announced
today that it has agreed to acquire the Sensing Solutions group
of Spirent plc (LSE: SPT; NYSE: SPM), the international network
technology company based in the United Kingdom. The new entity will
remain known as the Sensing Solutions group. The transaction, which
is subject to government approvals and other customary conditions,
is expected to close by the end of November.
The Sensing
Solutions group manufactures products and subsystems for sensing
temperature, humidity and pressure for the pharmaceutical, biomedical
and automotive industries. Revenues in 2000 were US$137 million.
"By acquiring
the Sensing Solutions group, a recognized leader in sensor technology,
we gain quality products and leading edge technology that are an
exciting expansion of our product offering, yet complement many
of the industrial components manufactured by our business," said
Lloyd Trotter, president and chief executive officer of GE Industrial
Systems. "This will allow us to better serve our customers with
a broader, more diversified portfolio of products and services to
meet our customers' needs while supporting our continued focus on
global growth."
The Sensing
Solutions group comprises three principal divisions:
- Temperature
division: Thermometrics, a global provider of temperature measurement
and sensing solutions principally in the automotive and medical
sectors;
- Humidity
division: including General Eastern Instruments which provides
a broad range of products for the measurement of humidity and
pressure for a variety of industries;
- Pharmaceutical
division: Kaye Instruments, a supplier of products and services
for thermal calibration, validation and monitoring, primarily
in medical device sterilization and pharmaceutical production.
The Sensing
Solutions group is a global business with operations in the United
States, Korea, Japan, India, Puerto Rico, Mexico, United Kingdom,
Germany, and China.
About GE
Industrial Systems
GE Industrial
Systems is a global leader in manufacturing products used to distribute,
protect and control electrical power and equipment, and supplying
product and service solutions for commercial, industrial, residential
and utility applications. GE Industrial Systems is one of GE's major
businesses. GE is the world's largest diversified technology, manufacturing
and services company with a commitment to achieving worldwide leadership.
For more information visit the website at www.GEindustrial.com
About Spirent
plc
Spirent plc
is an international network technology company providing state of
the art solutions with a focus on high growth, high margin activities.
Spirent plcs's Communications group unites leading edge performance
analysis technology with network operations expertise, enabling
customers to accelerate the development, deployment and assurance
of next generation network equipment and services worldwide. Further
information about Spirent plc can be found at www.spirent.com
Spirent plc
is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: SPT) and on the
New York Stock Exchange (ticker: SPM; CUSIP number: 84856M209) with
one American Depositary Receipt representing four ordinary shares.
Spirent and
the Spirent logo are trademarks of Spirent plc. All rights reserved.
Contact:
Anne Witkavitch
Manager - Communications & Public Affairs
GE Industrial Systems
Tel: 860-747-7461
Fax: 860-747-7393
Email: anne.witkavitch@indsys.ge.com
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