The Bowman cometh

26 September 2007 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

Where Philip Bowman goes, a sale usually follows. He got a good price for drinks business Allied Domecq and utility Scottish Power. Investors will hope the new chief executive can sprinkle similar magic dust on Smiths Group. A breakup of the UK conglomerate looks overdue.

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Smiths Group, the UK conglomerate whose products range from medical devices to airport security equipment, appointed Philip Bowman as its new chief executive, effective from December 10. He replaces Keith ButlerWheelhouse, who has run the group since 1996.

Bowman guided Scottish Power through an £11.6bn sale to rival utility Iberdrola of Spain last year. He also oversaw the sale of Allied Domecq, the UK drinks group, to France's Pernod Ricard for £7.5bn in 2005.

In January Smiths announced a detectiontechnology joint venture with General Electric of the US. Last week it said plans for the venture had been shelved after the companies were unable to agree on "strategic vision".

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