Nuremberg/Stolberg – LEONI AG of Nuremberg has successfully closed its acquisition, announced in mid August, of the cable manufacturer KERPEN. All the shares in the Stolberg-based company will – subject to cartel authority approval – be acquired effective 1 October 2005. “We are pleased to be able to welcome KERPEN as a new member of the LEONI Group. With its many years of experience and outstanding position in the data cables market as well as in the market supplying special cables for major plant engineering projects, KERPEN is an ideal enhancement of LEONI’s product range,” Dr Klaus Probst, Chairman of the Management Board of LEONI AG, said of this business acquisition.
KERPEN – leading in a variety of markets
Founded in 1919, KERPEN develops, produces and distributes copper and glass fiber cable-based systems for data transmission, for use in both office and residential buildings as well as in industrial environments. With more than 20 years of experience in copper data cables, KERPEN is Germany’s leading supplier in this market. Another mainstay of the Company's business comprises special cable solutions for measuring, controlling and regulating in industry as well as for major international plant engineering projects in the oil exploration, refinery and major chemical business sectors. KERPEN is among the world’s top three providers of special cables for major plant engineering projects.
Enhancement of LEONI’s product range
The market for information and communications equipment is, after years of stagnation, likely to recover further. In order to benefit accordingly from this growth, LEONI has decided to expand its existing data cables business considerably by acquiring KERPEN GmbH & Co. KG. The objective is to advance to being Germany’s leading manufacturer of cables and cabling systems for data transmission. The international business covering special cables for major plant engineering projects also constitutes an attractive enhancement of LEONI’s product range in its special cables unit. It is reasonable to assume that capital investment in crude oil exploration and refining will continue to grow in the future because of the increasing demand for energy.
