The consortium selling the stake brings together some 950 shareholders, which makes it the largest ever such group formed in Slovenia, announced brokerage Alta, which managed the sale.

Its release said the decision on the sale had been taken by representatives of small shareholders, management, strategic partner and a major financial investor.

Ernst Reichmayr, a partner in Andlinger & Company, described Eti a "one of the most technologically-advanced Slovenian industrial companies" and a fuse market leader in many Western and East European countries.

"We see considerable potential for further growth in Western Europe, North and South America and Asia," Reichmayr was quoted as saying upon signing the deal.

He said the new owner fully supported Eti's investment plans, and trusted its ability to increase revenue by more than 30% by 2020 to EUR 140m.

Andlinger & Company will pay 55 euros per share with the transaction expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Reichmayr said the takeover would be fully financed by Andlinger & Company's existing investors and partners, including founder Gerhard Andlinger and the families of Helmut Sohmen and Wolfgang Leitner.

"In the near future the dividends will be drastically reduced to the regulatory limit. This will enable the company to earmark the bulk of its cash flow for its further expansion an research and development, which we plan to increase further in the coming years," said Reichmayr.

Eti chairman Tomaž Berginc said the new owner had recognised "the value created by generations of employees and offered a suitable price which meets the owners' expectations".

He added that Andlinger & Company planned to develop all of Eti's production programmes and enhance its position as the biggest employer in the region of Zasavje.

The sale process was launched almost two years ago, as the shareholders' meeting of the Izlake company overwhelmingly voted to find a new owner with long-term plans.

Operating offices in New York, Vienna and Brussels, Andlinger & Company was set up in 1976 by Gerhard Andlinger, a US national of Austrian descent, who remains a minority shareholder.

Today, the corporation brings together a group of successful international businessmen who invest primarily in solid industrial and technical companies with big potential for growth.