Irish engineering group Mincon has acquired the remaining 25 per cent stake that it does not own in Mincon Rockdrills USA from Jones FT.

The Clare-based company, which specialises in the design, manufacture, sale and servicing of rock drilling tools and associated products, is to pay $42.2 million for the group, which owns and operates Mincon's manufacturing facility in Benton, Illinois.

The facility manufactures Down-the-Hole (DTH) bits and Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) bits for Mincon.

The group, which is listed in Dublin, originally purchased a 50 per cent stake in Mincon Rockdrills in 2003, increasing its shareholding to 75 per cent a year later.

Jones FT is owned by the Jones family, which includes Mike Jones the managing director of Mincon Rockdrills.

"We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of the remaining 25 per cent shareholding in Mincon Rockdrills USA and at the same time retaining Mike Jones and the Jones family as shareholders in the Mincon Group. Our manufacturing plant in Benton is an integral part of our operations, manufacturing a substantial portion of the Group's Bits, with the added benefit of being centrally located in the USA - the largest surface drilling market in the world," said Mincon chief executive Kevin Barry.