Odenberg acquired by Tomra's subsidiary Titech

As of this morning, Tomra Systems ASA (Tomra, www.tomra.com) a Norwegian public company (quoted on the Oslo Børs: TOM), has announced that it is to wholly acquire Dublin based technology company, Odenberg.

Odenberg (www.odenberg.com) is a leading provider of advanced sorting and processing technology to the international food processing industry.

Established in 1968, Odenberg today has 171 people employed across locations in Dublin (Ireland), Sacramento (California), Pezinok (Slovakia) and Ijsselstein (The Netherlands) and serves several of the world's top 10 food manufacturers.

More than 2,000 Odenberg optical sorting systems have been sold worldwide.

The company is expected to generate a 2010 EBIT in excess of EUR 4 million on total revenue of approximately EUR 40 million. Strong, profitable growth is expected going forward.

This acquisition is being made by Tomra’s wholly owned subsidiary TiTech AS (TiTech,www.titech.com) and is expected to be finalised in January 2011.

Odenberg will become a subsidiary of TiTech AS, continue to operate under the Odenberg brand, and be responsible for the food sector. There will be no planned changes in personnel, nor in customer support, service or in the production organization.

TiTech is a global market leader in sensor based analysis and sorting solutions. Their technology focus is to the recycling and mining sectors under the brands TiTech and CommodasUltrasort and to the food sector under the QVision brand. With this acquisition the combined TiTech/ Odenberg revenues will be in excess of €100m and the combined company will now become the #1 global sorting company.

By acquiring Odenberg, TiTech expands and complements its portfolio of industrial processing technology.  Odenberg brings to the table both unique, patented technology and leading market positions in Sorting, Peeling and Chilling/Freezing solutions.

In addition to representing an interesting growth case on its own, Odenberg is a good strategic fit with TiTech. Together, TiTech and Odenberg will have a strong market presence and an unrivalled technology base from which to grow further.

Titech will pay a consideration corresponding to an enterprise value of EUR 52 million. In addition conditional payments of up to EUR 5.5 million might be triggered based on 2010 and 2011 financial performance. Titech will pay the purchase price in cash and finance the transaction through TOMRA's current debt facilities.

Odenberg was owned by the Van den Bergh family and by the ACT Nominees who will exit the business.

The company is managed by a strong team of experienced executives who have grown the company and will remain with Odenberg.