Kansas City, Mo., March 16, 2010—Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corp. (“Smith U.S.”) announced that it has made a conditional offer to buy the Smith Electric Vehicles business based in the U.K. (“Smith U.K. Division”) from Tanfield Group Plc. (“Tanfield”). The offer is conditional upon successful financing by Smith U.S. and shareholder approvals on the part of Tanfield. The board of Tanfield has granted Smith U.S. a four-month period of exclusivity.
"Once completed, this transaction will create a unified entity that will be well positioned globally for growth in the rapidly expanding electric commercial vehicle market,” said Bryan Hansel, CEO of Smith U.S. “We believe this combination will create operational efficiencies and market synergies that will help Smith continue its strong sales momentum and cost reductions.”
