Ingersoll-Rand Co. has sold its Ingersoll-Dresser Pumps unit to Flowserve Corp., Irving, Texas, for $775 million in cash. Late last year, I-R acquired the remaining 49 percent of the unit, which generated revenue of $838 million in 1999.

The sale is part of I-R's ongoing effort to sell off non-core businesses and focus on "global growth markets of climate control, industrial productivity, infrastructure development and security and safety," according to Herbert Henkel, president and CEO of Ingersoll-Rand.

Last month, I-R sold its Los Angles-based Corona Clipper pruning tool division, which employs about 185 people and sells hand tools for pruning and harvesting to such retailers as Home Depot and Ace Hardware, for an undisclosed price. I-R has acquired Corona Clipper as part of its $160 million purchase of Harrow Industries in March 1999.

The buyer, Corporacion Patricio Echeverria S.A., Legazpi, Spain, makes hand tools under such brand names as Bellota and Muller, primarily for European and Latin American markets, and will use Corona Clipper to help expand its presence in the United States and Canada.

I-R, Woodcliff Lake, N.J, is expected to use the proceeds of the sales to acquire businesses that fit its strategy. Last month, the company acquired France-based Sambron S.A., a manufacturer of mobile telescoping material handlers, from parent Fayat Group. The Sambron line will carry the Bobcat name in Europe.

The pump acquisition makes Flowserve, which had 1999 sales of more than $1 billion, one of world's largest pump companies. The deal is expected to close by April.