Cat to make offer to acquire ERA Mining Machinery

Caterpillar and ERA Mining Machinery have announced a pre-conditional voluntary offer by Caterpillar for all of the issued shares of ERA.

ERA primarily designs, manufactures, sells and supports underground coal mining equipment in mainland China through its wholly-owned subsidiary ZhengzhouSiwei Mechanical & Electrical Equipment Manufacturing, commonly known as Siwei.

Siwei possess a manufacturing base of 600,000m2 in Zhengzhou, Henan province, where it manufactures and sells roof support equipment to underground mining customers in China. Caterpillar intends to retain key executives of Siwei, and its base of employees. Following the completion of the offer, current Chairman and CEO Wang Fu would continue to lead the operations of the business.

Steve Wunning, group president of Caterpillar, said: “Our announcement today underscores Caterpillar’s long-term commitment to continue to invest in China in order to support our growing base of Chinese customers. We intend to build on Siwei’s strong reputation and relationships in China, further investing in its mining roof support business and operations, while utilising Caterpillar’s global reach and organisation to help bring Siwei’s products to more customers outside of China.”

Emory Williams, chairman of ERA, said: “Caterpillar has been an important contributor to improving equipment, safety and mining practices around the world. We believe they will continue to make a substantial ongoing contribution to the industry in China.”