December 2002

VIVENDI TOWITHDRAW FROMWATER BUSINESS

Vivendi Universal (VU) hassold half of its 40.4% stake inVivendi Environnement (VE)to a group of French inves-tors for US$1.9 billion, andsays it plans to exit the envi-ronment business by the endof 2004.

The 17 new investors,which include Electricité deFrance and the Caisse desDépôts et Consignations, willtake over VU’s commitmentnot to dispose of the sharesbefore 21 December 2003.Each VE share sold carries anoption to buy another beforethe end of 2004; if theseoptions are exercised, VU willbe out of the water businesswithin two years.

Vivendi Environnementstarted out in 1853 as the waterdistribution company Généraledes Eaux. The company soonmoved into wastewater treat-ment, and later acquired wastemanagement, energy and trans-port interests. USFilter, whichincludes Wallace & Tiernan,was brought into the fold in1999.

The VE sell-off is one ofmany rapid asset sales underthe guidance of Jean ReneFourtou, VU’s chairman, thathave raised �5 billion for theconglomerate since 1 July2002. Fourtou’s predecessor,Jean-Marie Messier, left thecompany with huge debts aftera media spending spree. Thesale of VE will make VU apure media business.

PUMP PRO'SWIDENS

NETWORKCincinnati-headquarteredPump Pro's Inc has acquiredWagner Smith Pumps andSystems.

Wagner Smith Pumps andSystems is a full-service,stocking distributor provid-ing industrial pumps, meters,

mixers and repair services tocustomers in Ohio andKentucky since 1917.

Pump Pro’s, founded in1992, distributes and repairsindustrial pumps, mechanicalseals, and mixers in Ohio,Kentucky and Indiana, and isan original equipment manu-facturer of process systemsproviding fluid handling solu-tions to the North Americanindustrial and commercial markets.

GE BUYSOSMONICS FOR

US$253M GE Power Systems, a divi-sion of General Electric Co(GE), is to acquire filtrationspecialist Osmonics Inc foraround US$253 million instock and cash.

Osmonics will be mergedwith GE Power Systems’ GEWater unit as a wholly ownedGE subsidiary. GE Water,based in Guelph, Canada, com-prises Glegg Water Systems,GE Water Services and E-CellCorp (electrodeionization).

In April 2002, GE’sUS$1.8 billion acquisition ofthe chemical water treatmentcompany BetzDearborn Inclaunched GE into a new sectorand added US$1 billion inannual sales to the GESpecialty Materials group.

“The fit between GE Waterand Osmonics will allow us tobetter serve the water needs ofour global customers,” saidJohn Rice, president and CEOof GE Power Systems. “Bycombining Osmonics’ excel-lent technology and engineer-ing resources with the comple-mentary capabilities of GEWater, we will create an evenbroader portfolio of productsand services.”

Osmonics, headquarteredin Minnetonka, Minnesota,was founded in 1969 by DeanSpatz, the company’s chairmanand CEO. The company hadsales of US$207 million in2001.

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Pump Industry Analyst

IN BRIEF

• ITT Flygt came in at num-ber nine in the internationalranking of the world’s bestsustainability reports, con-ducted by SustainAbilityLtd on behalf of the UnitedNations Environment Prog-ramme (UNEP). “To beranked within the top tencompanies is importantrecognition of ITT Flygt’scontinued work with sus-tainable development,” saidMagnus Enell, ITT Flygtcorporate manager Sus-tainable Development. Acopy of ITT Flygt’s 2001Sustainability Report can bedownloaded at www.flygt.com/188971.asp.

• Memphis, Tennessee-basedPower Equipment Co hasjoined Netzsch’s NEMOPump Division as an authorized distributor forNEMO progressing cavitypumps.

• German sealing specialistBurgmann Dichtungs-werke GmbH is investing�300 000 in a new subsidiary in Hungary.Headquartered in Budapest,Burgmann Hungaria GmbHwill open for business on 1 January 2003 and willfocus on sales and advisory services for thecompany’s broad range of mechanical seals,packings and expansionjoints.

• KSB has acquired Pörringer+ Schindler’s (PSA) manu-facturing facility in Lünen,Germany. The plant makesgate valves and swing checkvalves for industrial andpower station applications.KSB intends to sell theStaal and Bantam valvesthrough its worldwide salesorganisation.

• Tecumseh Products Co isbuying Invensys’s FascoMotors, a manufacturer of AC, DC and gear motors, blowers and linearactuators.

DIVIDENDS

• The Cardo board of direc-tors will submit a recom-mendation to the annual gen-eral meeting on 7 April 2003of a regular dividend for thefinancial year 2002 of SKr8per share and an extra divi-dend of SKr32 per share.The regular dividendrequires SKr240 million andthe extra dividend SKr960million. The dividend rec-ommendation reflects thesale of the Rail business,which freed up approximate-ly SKr2 billion and gave acapital gain of SKr323 mil-lion. If the dividend pay-ments go ahead, Cardo’sequity ratio after payment ofthe total dividend is expect-ed to be approximately 50%.

• Crane Co’s fourth quarterUS$0.10 dividend on com-mon stock will be paid on 12December 2002 to share-holders of record on 3December 2002.

• The board of directors ofThe Gorman-Rupp Codeclared a quarterly cashdividend of US$0.17 pershare on the common stockof the company, payable on10 December 2002, to share-holders of record on 15November 2002. This marksthe 211th consecutive divi-dend paid by the companyand represents a 6.25%increase over the dividend ofUS$0.16 per share paid dur-ing the previous quarter.

• Robbins & Myers’ regularquarterly dividend ofUS$.055 per share (annualrate, US$0.22) was paid on31 October 2002 to share-holders of record as of 11October 2002.

• Thomas Industries Inc’sregular quarterly cash divi-dend of US$0.085 per share,is payable on 1 January2003, to shareholders ofrecord on 6 December 2002.This is the company’s 190thconsecutive quarterly cashdividend paid.