<PAGE> 1
EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2000
Contact: John Breed
(713) 209-8835
COOPER INDUSTRIES ACQUIRES UK MANUFACTURER WILLSHER & QUICK
Purchase adds to Cooper's leading telecommunications
and electronic enclosures offerings
HOUSTON, TX, Nov. 6 -- Cooper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:CBE) today announced that
it has acquired Willsher & Quick, a privately held manufacturer of standard and
custom enclosures for electronic system components such as computers, servers
and data networks. Willsher & Quick's major markets include the
telecommunications, data storage and Internet services industries. Headquartered
in Highbridge, Somerset, England, Willsher & Quick has annual sales of
approximately $19 million. Willsher & Quick will become a part of Cooper's
B-Line division.
"Our second-quarter addition of B-Line provided Cooper a solid position
in the electrical and electronic enclosures market and an excellent platform for
enhanced core growth and for complementary acquisitions," said H. John Riley,
Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer, Cooper Industries. "Our
strategy is to expand this high-growth business worldwide and Willsher & Quick
is an excellent step in realizing that goal. Willsher & Quick's well-established
market channels dramatically expand Cooper's selling opportunities in Europe. At
the same time, Willsher & Quick's proprietary products and designs further
strengthen Cooper's existing enclosure lines."
Acquired for approximately $11 million, Willsher & Quick is expected to
contribute to Cooper's earnings beginning in 2001. Further information is
available on a Form 8-K that will be filed today with the SEC.
- more -
<PAGE> 2
COOPER INDUSTRIES, INC. PAGE 2
The Cooper B-Line division of Cooper Industries manufactures and
markets support systems and enclosures used in the installation and retrofitting
of electrical, mechanical and telecommunications applications. Headquartered in
Highland, Illinois, USA, Cooper B-Line has eight manufacturing facilities in the
United States and approximately 1,700 employees.
Cooper Industries, with 1999 revenues of $3.9 billion, is a worldwide
manufacturer of electrical products, tools and hardware. Cooper Industries is
headquartered in Houston, Texas, and employs more than 34,000 people at over 100
locations around the world. Additional information about Cooper is available on
the Company's Internet site: www.cooperindustries.com.
Statements in this news release are forward-looking under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to
various risks and uncertainties, including the timing of integrating the
acquired company into Cooper's electrical products segment, the level of market
demand for the Company's products, competitive pressures and future economic
conditions. These factors are discussed in the Company's 1999 Annual Report on
Form 10-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
# # #
