Dunedin manufacturer Scott Technology remains on the acquisition trail and chairman Stuart McLauchlan says the company is in final negotiations to buy a German competitor.
Scott Technology is itself in the process of acquiring JBS as a cornerstone shareholder in a deal approved by shareholders late November 2015.
"Despite the company's best efforts, we are still waiting for approval from the Overseas Investment Office. We expect to complete this in April.''
If the approval came through, JBS would own 50.1% of Scott Technology and the Dunedin company would be left cash rich.
The German engineering company operated within Scott's appliance manufacturing industry sector, he said.
Scott intended to acquire the business assets, made up of plant and machinery, stock and selected work in progress, along with all the intellectual property which included the designs and drawings for current and future projects.
Final details were yet to be confirmed but Scott expected to employ about 40 staff with a turnover of €8 million ($NZ13.3 million) a year.
The company had strong engineering and technical skills and its business was similar to Scott.
Although the company had been in direct competition with Scott on some instances in the past, there were customers and offerings new to Scott, Mr McLauchlan said.
"Our European customer base is starting to grow but further growth is inhibited without a local presence. This acquisition, if it completes, will assist our planned strategic expansion through a stronger presence in our key international markets.''
Scott was not taken seriously in some markets until it had a manufacturing presence in place.
Having a European base would add to the company's reputation, he said.
Indications were the German business would have a solid forward workload and there would be further opportunities to expand the business to deliver and support Scott's engineered solutions into the European market.
Because the head office of Scott was based in Dunedin, the European acquisition could lead to an expansion of staff numbers in the city, Mr McLauchlan said.
