Saft (France), the battery activity of Alcatel, has agreed to acquire Hawker Eternacell Inc, a part of Invensys plc's (London) power systems division. The deal was completed on January 10, 2001 and calls for the Hawker Eternacell brand name to be replaced by Saft over a 6 month period.
Hawker Eternacell manufactures primary lithium batteries for military and industrial applications worldwide, for a turnover of approximately $35 million per annum. Their two manufacturing facilities produce three lithium technologies: lithium sulfur dioxide, lithium thionyl chloride and lithium manganese dioxide, which will strengthen Saft's lithium activities. The company, whose main customer is the US military, has assets in the US and the UK, and work is underway to integrate these assets into Saft's Specialty Battery Group, which covers its lithium, space and defense activities.
