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Pitman, New Jersey - - October 5, 2006 - - K-Tron International, Inc. (NASDAQ-KTII) today announced the acquisition of all of the stock of privately-held Premier Pneumatics, Inc. (“Premier”), a leading manufacturer of pneumatic conveying and bulk handling equipment for the North American market. The purchase price was $27.565 million, all of which was paid in cash, including a $2 million escrow. The purchase price is subject to adjustment based on Premier’s net working capital on the closing date. Top operating management of Premier is expected to remain following the acquisition, including Mike Wedel, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Todd Smith, Vice President Engineering and Manufacturing, and Gary Lee, Vice President Finance. Kevin Bowen, Senior Vice President of K-Tron responsible for the K-Tron Process Group, will also serve as President of Premier. Commenting on the acquisition, K-Tron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward B. Cloues, II said, “The acquisition of Premier significantly expands the scope of K-Tron’s activities in the pneumatic conveying business, which we entered in 1997, and in the solids feeding business where K-Tron has been a global leader for many years with its volumetric and gravimetric screw and belt feeders. The combination of these two market leaders will enable both K-Tron and Premier to offer their customers integrated pneumatic conveying and feeding systems with engineering, manufacturing, commissioning and after-sale services from a single source, something that is not widely available today. In addition, K-Tron’s extensive global network of wholly-owned subsidiaries and independent sales representatives is an ideal platform on which to expand Premier’s scope beyond the North American market.” Robert Korbelik, the previous owner and retiring President of Premier, added, “We view the fit of our Premier business with K-Tron as being ideal for our company and our employees since we are each a market leader and serve many of the same customers. I am also enthusiastic about the combination because both businesses are known for their high standards when it comes to product quality and customer satisfaction.” While indicating that K-Tron does not intend to provide guidance to the market with respect to future earnings, Mr. Cloues said that he expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2006. On a related matter, K-Tron also announced
that on September 29, it and its |
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