Schneider buys Invensys business

has signed an agreement to sell the majority of its Advanced Building Systems operations in Europe and the

(ABS EMEA) to

of France for £81 million.

This disposal follows the Group’s previously stated intention of exiting the contracting and services part of its building management systems (BMS) operations within its Controls business and focussing instead on becoming a supplier of products and systems to the BMS industry.

ABS EMEA is the leading provider of BMS in the UK under the Satchwell brand name and has a strong presence across the rest of Europe and the Middle East. The transaction includes Satchwell in the UK, Atmostech in Finland, Controlli in Italy, Messner in Germany and a number of other businesses operating under the Satchwell name across Europe and Middle East.

In the last financial year ABS EMEA reported sales of £94 million and an operating profit of £5 million. The net operating assets of these businesses as of 31 March 2005 were £25 million. Of the £94 million of divested revenue, £68 million was contracting and services and £26 million related to products. The ABS operations in the rest of the world had sales of £130 million.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be complete by the end of July.