Atlas Copco AB (STO: ATCOA) (STO: ATCOB), Stockholm, Sweden, has agreed to acquire Edwards, a global supplier of vacuum and abatement solutions, for SEK 10.6 billion (US$1.6 billion). The company is headquartered in Crawley in the United Kingdom and listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York.

Edwards’ products and services are used in manufacturing processes such as for semiconductors and flat panel displays. Ronnie Leten, Atlas Copco president and CEO, said the vacuum solutions market, estimated to be larger than SEK 40 billion (US$6 billion), is growing, and has similar characteristics to the company’s existing industrial businesses. 

Edwards had sales in 2012 of SEK 6.4 billion (US$984.2 million), more than half of which were in Asia. The company has more than 3,200 employees.