Weir expands in emerging markets

The engineering firm Weir Group is to buy a Malaysian company for £138m.

The acquisition of Linatex, which makes pump seals and other rubber products for mining, is part of Weir's strategy to expand in emerging markets.

Under the deal, the Glasgow-based company will assume £19m of debt but it said it would start paying for itself by 2011.

In a separate statement, Weir said it had seen a pick-up in orders in the past three months.

It said it now expected adjusted pre-tax profit for the first half to be about £140m, £20m more than originally expected.

Weir Group employs 9,000 people worldwide mostly in the mining and oil and gas sectors.

Of its latest acquisition, the company's chief executive Keith Cochrane said: "Linatex's established manufacturing capability, particularly in Malaysia and China, and its extensive customer network, provides an excellent platform for growth."