Ballard to Acquire Carbon Products Division of Textron Systems
VANCOUVER, B.C., May 22, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ballard Power Systems Inc.
(NASDAQ:BLDP)(TSE:BLD.) announced today that it has signed an agreement with
Textron Systems of Wilmington, Massachusetts under which Ballard will acquire
Textron's carbon products business unit for US$12.8-million.
The acquisition is expected to close on May 25, 2001.
This business unit develops and manufactures a variety of carbon materials for
automotive and fuel cell applications, including a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for
use in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. A GDL allows the even
diffusion of gases against the membrane at the heart of a PEM fuel cell. A GDL
must have good electrical conductivity and be suited to volume manufacturing
techniques.
The acquired business unit, to be known as Ballard Material Products, Inc., will
be a wholly owned subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems. It will employ over 50
people and be located in a 137,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility on eight acres
in Lowell, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston). The acquisition includes
intellectual property comprising 66 patents issued and pending worldwide,
covering 14 distinct inventions.
Firoz Rasul, Ballard's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "This
acquisition brings to Ballard expertise in carbon materials engineering and
automotive component manufacturing, a portfolio of relevant intellectual
property and a business unit that can substantially fund all of its research and
development expenditures from its current revenues. I want to welcome to the
Ballard team our newest members at Ballard Material Products. I know that they
will contribute to the commercial success of Ballard."
In 2000, the acquired business unit had revenues of US$11.8 million from sales
of its specialized carbon products to a wide range of customers. The division is
a qualified Tier 1 supplier to General Motors on a sole-source basis through the
2003 model year of friction material used in automotive transmissions. The
division is both QS9000 and ISO9001 certified. |
