Plans are made and a merge will occur in January of 2019, but much remains to be done until then. The two companies involved are Spectris plc (‘Spectris’) (LSE: SXS), the productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company, has announced that Brüel & Kjær Sound & Vibration (‘BKSV’) and HBM will be merging their activities beginning January 1, 2019.
Søren Holst, President of Brüel & Kjær (left), and Andreas Hüllhorst, President of HBM.
Both BKSV and HBM are operating companies within the Test and Measurement segment of Spectris. The new company will be named HBK (Hottinger, Brüel & Kjær).
BKSV and HBM are known globally in their respective disciplines and have complementary expertise across the measurement chain. By leveraging their respective strengths, they aim to create a business with the capabilities, breadth and scale to deliver differentiated customer value, for example, in the domains of propulsion, durability, safety, and noise, vibration and harshness.
A new management team has been selected, drawing on the strengths and expertise from both BKSV and HBM, and they will be in place from 1 July 2018. Merger preparation activities will be undertaken from now through to the end of 2018, and during this phase, the companies will operate in existing structures. HBK will be operational under the new structure from 1 January 2019.
Eoghan O’Lionaird, Business Group Director responsible for the Test and Measurement segment, said that Brüel & Kjær and HBM are both premium hardware providers in measurement with a strong focus on software. By combining their activities, the two companies can deliver an integrated offering, combining sensors, data acquisition, preparation, evaluation and engineering services into one solution for its customers. This aligns closely with the Spectris strategy of focusing on the provision of complete solutions combining hardware, software and related services, and will enable them to provide a broader service offering and increased value to BKSV and HBM customers.
