UK – US – Tanfield plc have confirmed to the Handy Shipping Guide that they have received a non-binding conditional offer for the groups Smith Electric Vehicle division, producers of the Ford Transit based Edison van series, from Smiths Electric Vehicles US Inc. The company’s move into the US market was announced here in October last year and the pace of this rapidly expanding market is such that the offer is not entirely unexpected.
In January the US Corporation announced it had been added to the GSA Schedule under solicitation number QMAE-T4-091003-N, allowing U.S. government agencies and military forces to purchase Smith’s all-electric, fuel- and emissions-free commercial trucks. With the development of the Smith Newton Medium/Heavy truck the US military are an obvious target for the group and their preference for home produced equipment is legendary.
In the UK Smiths already supply such prestigious customers as Sainsbury’s, TNT, DHL, TK Maxx and Scottish & Southern Energy, fulfilling these organisations urban transport requirements and proclaiming their green credentials.
The offer consists of £37 million in cash (equivalent to 50p per existing Tanfield Share in issue), An additional £33.3 million contingent credit to the benefit of Tanfield in any SEVUS IPO offering prior to September 2015 (equivalent to up to 45p per existing Tanfield Share in issue) with the US company obtaining the assets of the UK division including the 49% shareholding in SEVUS owned by Tanfield plus any relevant licensing agreements plus intellectual property rights to enable them to trade worldwide using the company name.
The electric vehicle business appears to be the jewel in the Tanfield crown in what has been a difficult year and the offer is likely to receive a favourable response from investors if market analysts are to be believed.
