sold an asset for us$229 million Harsco Buys Brambles...

sold an asset for us$229 million Harsco Buys Brambles Mill-Services Unit for $229 Mln
Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) --

Harsco Corp., which provides industrial products and railway maintenance, said it bought the northern hemisphere mill-services operations of Brambles Industries Ltd., for US$229 million to expand the services it offers the steel industry.

The unit had revenue of about $195 million in fiscal 2005 and operates at 19 locations in the U.S., the U.K, France and the Netherlands, Harsco said today in a statement. The acquisition is expected to add to Harsco's earnings in 2006, spokesman Kenneth Julian said.

Harsco said the purchase will expand its on-site mill services to 180 locations in 32 countries. These services include metal recovery from slag, scrap transport and recycling waste materials. Harsco's mill-services unit is its largest, accounting for 40 percent of the Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based company's $2.5 billion in revenue in 2004, Julian said.

``Having more locations to work from, we have greater opportunities to expand our services growth,'' Julian said today in a phone interview.

Shares of Harsco, which also makes scaffolding for the construction industry, rose 67 cents to $68.10 as of 4:03 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has risen 22 percent in the past year. Shares of Brambles rose 3 cents to A$10.05 ($7.33) today in Sydney.