Layne Christensen Company Acquires Bencor Corporation of America

MISSION WOODS, Kan., Nov. 17, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Layne Christensen Company ("Layne") (Nasdaq:LAYN) today announced the acquisition of Bencor Corporation of America – Foundation Specialist ("Bencor"). Founded in 1969, Bencor is one of North America’s leading contractors in foundation and underground engineering. Bencor specializes in deep foundations for dams, levees, shafts and below ground structures and also excels in the design and building of earth support retention systems for basement excavation for high-rise structures, subway lines and stations and depressed highways. Bencor has performed work in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and North Africa and has over 100 permanent employees headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The purchase price for the stock of Bencor was $32.1 million. Management projects first year revenues and earnings per share of approximately $50 million and $0.20-$0.25 per share, respectively, after purchase accounting adjustments.

Peter Iovino, Layne GeoConstruction Division President, said, "The GeoConstruction Division in the past few years has focused on larger projects like dam/levee rehabilitation work.   Most of these projects are quite large and require the construction of both cementitious grout curtains and deep slurry walls within bedrock. In the United States, there are just a few companies capable of performing the slurry wall part of the remediation work, and Bencor is a recognized leader in that technology. Bencor with its size, structure and technical expertise, represents an excellent and strategic opportunity to substantially increase, complement and solidify our Division’s specialty work capabilities. Bencor, together with the acquisition of our 50% interest in Costa Fortuna in Latin America, will put the GeoConstruction Division at the top of the list of specialty foundation leaders in the world and will open doors to larger and more profitable projects. I would like to especially thank the current Bencor management team, GianCarlo Santarelli, Lawrence Piccagli and Max Piccagli, who were instrumental in making this deal become a reality and who will play a vital role in ensuring its future success.  We are very pleased to welcome Bencor to Layne Christensen."

Ugo Piccagli, the founding father of Bencor and now a consultant to the Layne GeoConstruction group, said, "We are extremely excited about the possibilities from a combination with Layne’s GeoConstruction Division. Since 1969, with unchanged ownership and management, Bencor has constructed many diverse projects, including cutoff walls, drilled shafts and caissons, underpinnings and deep foundations. Currently, Bencor is working on many interesting projects including a major rehabilitation project for the US Corp of Engineers at the Clearwater Dam in Piedmont, Missouri. The Clearwater Dam project, a joint venture, where Bencor is the operating partner and has an 80% interest is approximately 50% complete and will continue through 2011. It includes the installation of slurry cutoff walls that penetrate through the Clearwater Dam embankment and clay core into bedrock. While Bencor will continue its successful operations under the same managerial structure, the combination with Layne Christensen adds further support to our ability to perform larger projects and to offer other complete foundation packages administered under one single contract. We are pleased that Bencor will be part of the Layne GeoConstruction family."

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements of plans and objectives, statements of future economic performance and statements of assumptions underlying such statements, and statements of management’s intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "should," "intended," "continue," "believe," "may," "hope," "anticipate," "goal," "forecast," "plan," "estimate" and similar words or phrases. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including but not limited to prevailing prices for various commodities, unanticipated slowdowns in the Company’s major markets, the risks and uncertainties normally incident to the construction industry and to the exploration for and development and production of oil and gas, the impact of competition, the effectiveness of operational changes expected to increase efficiency and productivity, worldwide economic and political conditions and foreign currency fluctuations that may affect worldwide results of operations. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially and adversely from those anticipated, estimated or projected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

Layne Christensen Company provides products and services for the water, mineral, construction and energy markets.