HONG KONG and CLEVELAND, Dec. 17 /Xinhua PRNewswire/ -- Techtronic Industries Company Limited ("TTI"), and Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition by TTI of Royal Appliance, a floor care company whose Dirt Devil® brand is among the market leaders in North America. The agreement provides for Royal Appliance shareholders to receive $7.37 per share in cash, or a total purchase price of approximately $105 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Royal Appliance will be merged with a subsidiary of TTI which, following the completion of the merger, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of TTI. The transaction is expected to close in March of 2003. It is subject to, among other things, the expiration or termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period and approval by the shareholders of both TTI and Royal Appliance. Royal Appliance was advised by NatCity Investments, Inc. in connection with this transaction.

For the 12 months ended 31 December, 2001 TTI generated revenue of $784 million, and for the six months ended 30 June, 2002, TTI's sales increased 70.9% over the same period for the prior year to $508.9 million. Royal Appliance generated revenues of approximately $400 million for the 12 months ended September 30, 2002.