With this acquisition, altogether another 125 staff will join the Mincon Group. Driconeq currently has factories in Sunne, Sweden; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Perth, Australia. An integral part of the group is the heat treatment business, HARDtekno, located in Kristinehamn in Sweden.

According to Mincon, the factories are an excellent fit for its manufacturing and business footprint, being close to existing key Mincon facilities and management, and giving the company a worldwide brand in drill pipe and associated products.

Mincon's current drill pipe manufacturer, Viqing Group, which it acquired last year, will be combined with the Driconeq Group, and add its rapidly building sales to this product category for the group. The management teams in Sunne, where both businesses are headquartered, will be merged as agreed.

Joe Purcell, chief executive officer of Mincon, commented on the acquisition: "We are delighted to add these businesses and their teams to our group. We are at heart an engineering group, an industrial group, and these businesses should receive an opportunity to grow and develop over the coming years."

The net assets being acquired total approximately SK45 million (US$5.48 million). There is no debt being brought on as part of the transaction. The agreed price is SK65 million, plus the buy-in of a minority interest in a subsidiary for SK6.95 million. Together with costs, the whole transaction, with full pay-out, will total some SK81 million.