PCC buys SMC for $540 million

 (PCC), based in Portland, Oregon has entered into an agreement to acquire

(SMC), a producer of high-performance nickel-based alloys and super alloys, for approximately $540 million in cash, including the repayment of SMC’s outstanding debt.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Donegan, chairman and chief executive officer of Precision Castparts Corporation said: “First and foremost, it will provide us with an internal supply of nickel-based billet for our Forged Products operations, enabling us to manage our overall value stream more cost effectively from raw material to forged component. Other than producing some billet at our WASA facility in Australia, we are currently buying all of our billet on the outside.”

PCC expects to save $10 million to $15 million in the first 12 to 15 months following the close of the transaction, rising to between $30 and $40 million in the years following the acquisition.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of both companies, as well as by holders of more than 90 percent of the common stock of SMC, and is not subject to a financing contingency or approval by PCC’s shareholders. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter of fiscal 2006.

SMC, which emerged from bankruptcy two years ago, had revenues of $474 million in the first six months of the year, with operating profit of $26.5 million.