The sale of Moffett Engineering to Powerscreen, the Dungannon-based engineering company for £23 million was confirmed last night. Moffett Engineering is one of Ireland's most successful indigenous firms, selling truck-mounted forklifts and tractors worldwide.

According to Powerscreen, the net assets of Moffett are £5.2 million. Its last set of audited accounts show pre-tax profits of £1.6 million. The company employs almost 300 people.

The main beneficiary of the sale will be Moffett managing director Ms Carol Moffett. She owns 48 per cent of the shares and stands to gain £11 million.

Ms Moffett was unavailable for comment last night. In a statement she said that Powerscreen had the resources to provide the substantial investment required to realise the company's full potential.

"The purchasers bring three key elements to the operation - access to capital, a broad market base and well-established international distribution network," the statement said.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Mr Shay McKeown, chief executive of Powerscreen said the acquisition was a significant addition to the company's materials handling division.

"In particular it is an excellent complement to the highly successful Matbro company. He said Powerscreen believed that this product line had excellent growth prospects worldwide "as increasingly material handling businesses expand their delivery unloading capabilities".

Other shareholders in Moffett who stand to gain from the sale include Ms Moffett's brother Robert and Mr James McAdam, a company employee who is said to have developed the Moffett Mounty, which is a transportable forklift and has been the critical element of the company's success. Forbairt, the state development agency also has a small stake in the firm.

Well over half its products are exported. It has significant sales in the US, Britain and a range of continental European markets.