Weir Group finalises acquisition of Micromine

(Sharecast News) - Weir Group announced on Wednesday that it has finalised the acquisition of Micromine, a global mining software specialist, for a sterling-equivalent enterprise value of £624m, as it moves to expand its digital solutions offering for the mining sector. The FTSE 100 company said the deal, originally announced in February, brought a high-margin and fast-growing business into its portfolio.

Micromine provides end-to-end software solutions for exploration, mine design, planning and operations across a range of mining environments.

The company would initially be reported under Weir's ESCO division, but would ultimately be integrated with existing digital technologies such as Motion Metrics and NEXT to form a consolidated digital solutions division.

Kristen Walsh, previously regional managing director of minerals APAC, was appointed division president of the new digital solutions unit and joined the group executive team.

Andrew Birch, Micromine's current chief executive, would remain with the company in an advisory role for up to 12 months to support the transition.

Weir said it expected Micromine to contribute positively to group margins in 2025, with an estimated 25 basis point uplift to operating margin.

The acquisition was also expected to result in about £25m of additional interest expense this year, alongside one-off integration and transaction costs of around £16m spread over 2025 and 2026.

Revenue expectations for Micromine remained consistent with the guidance issued in February, subject to currency fluctuations.

"We are delighted that Micromine has formally become part of Weir - Micromine is a high performing, high growth business of scale, and is a natural and complementary fit for Weir," said chief executive officer Jon Stanton.

"Weir's mission is to deliver mining technology for a sustainable future, helping the mining industry produce the metals needed to power the global energy transition.

"Digital has a big part to play, and Weir is innovating and investing in digital solutions to make mining smarter, more efficient and sustainable."

Stanton said that bringing together Micromine with Weir's existing digital technologies, the firm's vision was to create a digital platform that helps customers optimise their performance at each step along the mining value chain.

"This is about bringing together Weir's knowledge, capabilities and expertise to create sector-leading digital solutions for the mining industry."

At 0908 BST, shares in the Weir Group were down 0.45% at 2,230p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.