Amec sells Spie

UK: Amec has sold its French electrical engineering subsidiary Amec Spie to private investment group, PAI Partners, for UK£ 707 million (US$ 1.33 billion). The deal is expected to reach financial close in the third quarter of the year, netting Amec a UK£ 220 million (US$ 414 million) exceptional profit. Amec says it will use the proceeds to pay down its debt. Spie employs 23000 people across 380 locations in Europe. Last year it had sales of UK£ 1.76 billion (US$ 3.31 billion) and made a pre-tax profit of UK£ 50 million (US$ 94 million).