Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230075
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONDON LENGTH: Medium
Hanson said it will place the subsidiaries, including Jacuzzi Whirlpool Baths, Farberware Cookware and Ames Hardware Tools, into a new group that will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The various pieces of the new company, U.S. Industries Inc., had sales of nearly $3 billion last year. That would have put it about 162nd on the Fortune magazine list of the 500 largest American industrial companies.
Hanson stockholders initially will own all shares of the new company, which is taking on debt in order to help Hanson improve its balance sheet.
``The reduction in debt will enable Hanson to position itself better for major and bolt-on acquisitions as opportunities arise,'' chief executive Derek Bonham said in a statement. Hanson declined elaboration, but in a news conference Bonham held out the possibility of stepping into into an entirely new line of business.
London traders say the market has been full of speculation recently that Hanson might try to buy two big British companies - construction group Costain Group Plc and the utility Yorkshire Electricity Plc.
By spinning off the U.S. companies, Hanson will focus on seven core businesses: chemicals, coal, building materials, cranes, tobacco, forest products and propane.
The top executive for the new U.S. conglomerate is David H. Clarke, 53, now deputy chairman and chief executive of Hanson Industries, the U.S. arm of Hanson Plc.
Clarke said U.S. Industries could sell off some of its companies to cut back its own debts, but he did not name any potential candidates for disposal. The companies that will make up U.S. Industries employ about 23,000 people worldwide.
HANSON
IN WESTERN VIRGINIA
MW Manufacturers Inc., a maker of windows and patio doors, employs about 1,000 at its factory, distribution center and headquarters in Rocky Mount.
Jacuzzi Whirlpool Baths, a Walnut Creek, Calif., manufacturer of speciality plumbing fixtures, has announced plans for a hot-tub plant in Salem, to start production in July with 150 workers, expecting to grow to 300 workers.
by CNB