Infrastructure, building and construction products group Hill & Smith Holdings PLC has invested €26m (£17.4m) in buying another 34.9 per cent of German investment company Zinkinvent GmbH, in which it already had a 33.3 per cent stake.

As a result of Hill & Smith increasing its total shareholding to 68.2 per cent, Zinkinvent has become a subsidiary of the West Midlands based group.

Shareholders gave their approval to the deal at an Extraordinary General Meeting held today, Monday 2nd July.

Zinkinvent owns Vista NV, a leading galvanizing and lighting column supplier operating in Europe and the US. Vista is the market leader in Northern Europe for hot dip galvanizing systems for the protection of steel from corrosion and has significant market share in the countries in which it operates.

Hill & Smith chief executive Derek Muir said: “Our expectations of the benefits of investing in Vista have been exceeded, even during the period that we owned just one third of it. Naturally, during this time, we have contributed to the financial management and performance of the Vista business.

“The integration of Vista within the group will open the way to further development in terms of both new markets and new opportunities. Vista’s innovative capability will complement our product development programme, particularly in the infrastructure products area.”

Hill & Smith’s infrastructure products range from safety barriers for highway maintenance work and lighting columns through to electronic road information signs.

In the year ended 31 December 2006, Zinkinvent’s consolidated accounts reported profit before tax of € 22.0m (£14.8m).

Hill & Smith reflected in its 2006 consolidated accounts a share of profit after taxation for Zinkinvent of £2.1m (€ 3.2m). Hill & Smith is to announce its interim results on 3rd September 2007. David Grove, Executive Chairman of Hill & Smith Holdings, said: “The current year started well for us. The markets we supply are generating robust demand for our products and the competitive advantage resulting from our investment in product development continues to pay off.”