Spectris’s products have helped Japan’s Bullet Train run more quietly, while LDS makes integrated vibration test and measurement equipment and software.

Other Done Deals

• UK instruments and controls maker Spectris bought LDS Test & Measurement from SPX Corp for US $102 million on a debt and cash-free basis.
• Industrial manufacturer Illinois Tool Works acquired UK company Avery Weigh-Tronix, a manufacturer of industrial weighing products and systems for an undisclosed sum from private equity firm European Capital
• South African IT firm Dimension Data, which is dual listed in London and Johannesburg, acquired a 51 per cent stake in Angola’s Sistemas Redes e Communicaoes, an IT solutions company, for an undisclosed amount
• Swiss travel company Kuoni Reisen Holding AG bought UK luxury-tour operator Carrier to help boost sales. The details were undisclosed
• Bedford Funding, an international tech-focused private equity fund, has bought Authoria for US $63.1 million. The software company has received $140 million in funding from at least seven different VC firms over the past nine years

Deals in the pipeline

• The Philippine government has decided to sell its 40 per cent stake in Petron Corp, the country’s largest oil refiner, and is looking to get about 25 billion pesos (US $530 million) from the deal. London-based Ashmore Group, which owns slightly over 50 per cent of the company, has right of first refusal
• Concateno, an AIM-listed drug and alcohol tester, may be sold as appetite for testing businesses continues. Concateno confirmed today that it remained in talks about a potential offer for the company
• United International Bank BSC (Bahrain) acquired BWA Water Additives, a maker of chemicals for the water treatment market, from Close Brothers Private Equity. No financial terms were disclosed, except that the deal gave Close Brothers a 3.5 times return on an investment originally made as part of a May 2006 management buyout of BWA from Chemtura