GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft has successfully completed the acquisition of the International Cooling Group (ICG), headquartered at Fareham near Southampton, United Kingdom. The acquisition took effect on September 26, 2008. ICG is operating profitably in an interesting growth market for the GEA Group.

ICG manufactures evaporators and condensing products for the industrial refrigeration markets under the brand names Searle and Raffel in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In 2007, ICG generated sales of approximately EUR 70 million with a workforce of around 500 employees. The acquisition of ICG is fully in line with GEA Refrigeration’s strategy of selective growth through acquisitions.

ICG will be integrated into the GEA Group's Refrigeration Division in order to realize further growth and synergy effects as rapidly as possible. The regional presence and product range of ICG and GEA Refrigeration complement each other in full and will strengthen the competitiveness and position of GEA Refrigeration in Europe.

Commenting on the transaction, Niels Graugaard, member of the Executive Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft said, "ICG represents an excellent, profitable, technological and geographical extension of our refrigeration product range. The acquisition will strengthen the competitiveness and the position of GEA´s Refrigeration Division in Europe and provides further significant synergy effects".

Dave Gillett, CEO of ICG said, "We compliment each other in products and markets, so we see this a perfect fit. GEA’s reputation is built on quality, technology and performance backed by investment in the latest manufacturing processes, which are the same aims as ours. We look forward to building a global businesses together with them”.

Important highlights:
- Greater geographic scale and resources will improve product availability and sales execution.
Customers will benefit from greater choice and support
- Current ICG management will continue to lead their companies
- The combination of GEA and ICG commercial and industrial refrigeration business provides a solid platform for global expansion.
- The companies are complementary with strengths in different countries and products.
- The combination will result in significant synergies.
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Overview of ICG
International Cooling Group (ICG), headquartered at Fareham near Southampton (UK) manufactures evaporators and condensers for the industrial refrigeration markets under the brand names Searle and Raffel. In 2007 ICG generated sales of approximately 70 Million Euros with 500 employees.

Overview of GEA Refrigeration
GEA Refrigeration is the leading global group in Industrial Refrigeration and a division of GEA Group AG.  The companies of GEA Refrigeration design, engineer, install and maintain innovative refrigeration components and systems based on quality, reliability and total cost of ownership for customers for whom industrial refrigeration is an essential part of their primary process. GEA Refrigeration employs approximately 3.300 people in more than 45 companies worldwide.

Overview of GEA Group
GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft is German’s largest listed mechanical engineering company. As an international technology group GEA focuses on the specialty mechanical engineering areas of process technology and components. Consolidated sales were EUR 5.2 billion in 2007. More than 50 per cent of GEA’s sales are delivered into the fast growing food and beverage industry. The company's workforce comprised over 20,000 employees as of June 30, 2008. The GEA Group is a market and technology leader in 90 percent of its business areas. GEA Group is listed in the German MDAX share index (G1A, WKN 660200).