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Balfour Beatty acquires Schreck-Mieves, the German rail engineering group, for €36 million

Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, services and investment group, announces today that it has agreed to acquire Schreck-Mieves GmbH, the German rail engineering group, for a cash consideration of €36 million. Schreck-Mieves is a leader in the German trackwork market and also manufactures key rail components and systems and supplies specialist plant and equipment.

Commenting on the acquisition, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive Ian Tyler said:

“Balfour Beatty is already a major player in the German rail market with a leading position in electrification and power supply as well as significant capabilities in planning, logistics and signalling. Schreck-Mieves has a strong, established position in the trackwork market, which accounts for the majority of German rail infrastructure spending, and enhances further our ability to deliver major, multi-disciplinary projects.”

Schreck-Mieves supplies trackwork to the German mainline rail industry (Deutsche Bahn), and the mass transit and industrial markets through three divisions in the West, Central and East of Germany. It also has operations in Holland and Russia. Rail components and systems are manufactured at facilities in Dortmund and Braunschweig.

Schreck-Mieves had 2007 sales of €118 million, operating profits of €3.3 million and net assets of €17 million. Profits were held back by under-performance in the systems and components business, which will be addressed post acquisition.

Growing market opportunity should see Schreck-Mieves add volume through market share growth and geographical expansion within Germany. The acquisition is conditional upon the customary competition clearance.

ENDS

Media/Analyst enquiries:
Tim Sharp
Tel: 020 7216 6884
www.balfourbeatty.com

Notes to Editors

1. Balfour Beatty Rail Power Systems, based in Germany, is an international and domestic leader in railway power supply systems and electrification. In 2007 it had revenues of €480 million. Amongst its major recent projects have been the electrification of the approved tunnel and mainline station in Berlin, electrification of the Ingolstadt to Nuremberg line, the Metro do Porto extension in Portugal and the high-speed electrification of the Milan-Turin line in Italy.
2. Balfour Beatty Rail Power Systems was recently awarded the rail systems work for the new Gotthard Base in Switzerland in a contract likely to be worth approximately £200 million.
3. Balfour Beatty Rail is an international leader in the design, construction, equipping, maintenance and management of rail assets and systems with annual sales of approximately £785 million in 2007 and £770 million in 2006. It is a major trackwork contractor and one of the largest manufacturers of track systems and products in Europe.
4. Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction, services and investment business, well-positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant long-term growth. We work in partnership with sophisticated customers who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise. Our skills are applied in appropriate combinations to meet individual customer needs.