October 03, 2007	Wednesday	Ramazan 20, 1428

CHICAGO, Oct 2: Cooper Industries Ltd, a maker of electrical products and tools, on Tuesday announced a joint venture with a Chinese maker of power equipment to broaden its product offerings.

Houston-based Cooper said it will hold a 60 per cent stake in the venture with Nature Science and Technology Co, a privately held maker of medium-voltage indoor switchgear in Zhejiang province.

Nature’s products match up well with Cooper’s outdoor switchgear equipment, Cooper executives said.

“We can now offer a wider range of power equipment to service customers requiring ... power transmission and distribution products,” Cooper Chief Executive Kirk Hachigian said in a statement.

“The ongoing infrastructure development, industrial investment and urbanisation throughout the world, and especially in China, are generating a large demand for power,” he added.

Cooper, with 33 per cent of its sales outside the United States, said international growth, especially in China, is critical.

Meanwhile, German cosmetics group Beiersdorf AG has agreed to buy an 85 per cent stake in C-BONS Holding’s hair care business in China for 269.45 million euros ($381.9 million), Beiersdorf said on Tuesday.

British Virgin Islands-registered Global Source Investments will continue to hold a 15 per cent stake in C-BONS Hair Care for at least two years after closing, which is expected by year-end, Beiersdorf said in a statement.

Shares of Beiersdorf, known for its Nivea brand, were up 0.8 per cent at 52.80 euros, underperforming a 2.4 per cent rise in the midcap MDAX index.—Reuters