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Capital Returns · Divestment · Industrial Engineering · Smiths Group
Smiths Group Plc agreed to sell its Smiths Detection division to CVC Capital Partners for £2 billion, accelerating its transformation into a focused industrial engineering group and committing to return a large portion of the net proceeds to shareholders.
This sale, along with the prior sale of Smiths Interconnect for £1.3 billion to Molex, completes the strategic portfolio simplification outlined in January 2025. The remaining core businesses are John Crane and Flex-Tek, focused on flow-management and thermal-solutions technologies.
The £2 billion enterprise value for Smiths Detection represents approximately 16.3x headline operating profit and 12.5x headline EBITDA for FY2025, validating the board's strategy. Net cash proceeds are expected to be £1.85 billion.
Smiths Group shares traded around 2,474p on December 3, 2025, up 1.8% on the day and 38% over the past year, reflecting positive market reaction. The company also approved a new £1 billion share buyback program, following a £500 million program.
The "new" Smiths Group targets 5-7% organic revenue growth, 21-23% headline operating margin, and over 10% annual headline EPS growth for the streamlined group.
Smiths Group Sells Detection for £2 Billion, Boosts Shareholder Returns(current)
