Filtration-related M&A deals between April and June 2019 included:
• Caloris Engineering buys US fabricator Seitz Stainless
Caloris Engineering LLC, a US provider of membrane, evaporation and drying technology, acquired the Avon, Minnesota-based equipment fabricator Seitz Stainless. Easton, Maryland-headquartered Caloris Engineering offers evaporators, dryers and membranes for the food and beverage manufacturing sector, while Seitz Stainless fabricates a range of components used in food processing systems, such as heat exchangers, pressure vessels, tanks and custom equipment.
• De Nora buys frac water disinfection specialists Neptune Enterprises
De Nora Water Technologies acquired a majority interest in Texas-based water service company Neptune Enterprises LLC, forming De Nora Neptune LLC.
• Valmet seals GL&V acquisition
Valmet completed the acquisition of North America-based GL&V, a global provider of technologies and services to the pulp and paper industry, for an enterprise value of approximately €113 million. GL&V supplies technologies, upgrades and optimisation services, rebuilds and spare parts for the pulp and paper industry globally. GL&V’s washing, oxygen delignification and bleaching operations with Compact Press®, pumps and mixers technology for chemical pulping as well as the related Product Center in Karlstad Sweden are not included in the transaction. GL&V will now be part of Valmet’s Services business line.
• Freudenberg Filtration takes majority stake in China’s Apollo Air-cleaner
Freudenberg’s Filtration Technologies Business Group took a majority shareholding in China’s Apollo Air-cleaner Co Ltd. Apollo Air-cleaner, which provides air and water filtration solutions in China, had 2017 sales of RMB750 million (approximately €96 million) and employs around 1000 people. Apollo will continue as a joint venture between Freudenberg (75%) and the previous sole proprietor Japan’s Apollo Trading Group (25%), under the name Freudenberg Apollo Filtration Technologies. Freudenberg Filtration Technologies will also bring its current consumer filtration business into the joint venture.
• Kurita Water Industries acquires Avista Technologies
Japanese water treatment solutions supplier Kurita Water Industries Ltd is acquiring San Marcos, California-headquartered Avista Technologies Inc together with its affiliate Avista Technologies (UK) Ltd. Avista is a formulator and global supplier of reverse osmosis (RO) specialty chemicals. The company also provides technical support for membrane‐based water treatment systems including reverse osmosis (RO), microfiltration/ultrafiltration (MF/UF) and multimedia filtration (MMF).
Evoqua Water Technologies acquired ATG UV Technology Ltd, a UK manufacturer of ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection systems serving the municipal, marine, food and beverage, oil and gas, aquatics and aquaculture markets. Wigan-based ATG UV, a privately held company employing around 75 people, is the exclusive technology supplier to Evoqua’s ETS-UV product line in North America. ATG UV is Evoqua’s first acquisition in 2019 and 13th to date.
• Gardner Denver to combine with Ingersoll Rand’s Industrial business
Ingersoll-Rand plc is to spin off its Industrial segment (Ingersoll Rand Industrial) and combine it with Gardner Denver Holdings Inc, creating an industrial company (IndustrialCo) valued at approximately US$15 billion. Ingersoll Rand’s current HVAC and transport refrigeration assets will become a pure play global leader in climate control solutions for buildings, homes and transportation (ClimateCo). IndustrialCo, which is expected to be called Ingersoll Rand, will be home to Gardner Denver and Ingersoll Rand Industrial, and have 2019 pro forma revenue of around US$6.6 billion. The transaction is expected to close by early 2020, subject to approval by Gardner Denver stockholders, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
• Acquisition strengthens Sulzer’s Chemtech business
Sulzer strengthened its Chemtech business with the acquisition of GTC Technology US LLC, a Houston, Texas-headquartered technology company that offers proprietary processes and systems for the production of aromatics and other petrochemicals. The acquisition expands Sulzer Chemtech’s revenue base to process licencing and associated proprietary equipment and chemicals. GTC develops and commercialises licenced processes, including proprietary equipment and chemicals, for the petrochemical industry.
• Filtermist acquires Carter Environmental Engineers’ air services division
UK industrial air filtration specialist Filtermist International Ltd purchased the assets of Carter Environmental Engineers Ltd’s air services division. The deal includes the rights to manufacture the Carter range of dust extraction equipment, which consists of dry dust filters, booths and benches and wet collectors. This was Filtermist’s second acquisition of 2019. Earlier this year, Filtermist announced that it had successfully completed the acquisition of the Yorkshire-based DCS Group of Companies, a designer, supplier, installer and commissioner of fume and dust extraction systems. Previous acquisitions include the customised air movement and air pollution control systems specialist Multi-Fan Systems in 2016 and the dust filtration systems manufacturer Dustcheck Ltd in 2017.
• Metso to buy Canada’s McCloskey International
Metso signed an agreement to acquire McCloskey International, the Canadian mobile crushing and screening equipment manufacturer. The acquisition will expand Metso’s presence in the global aggregates industry. McCloskey, which employs around 900 employees in Canada, the US and Northern Ireland, had pro forma sales of C$464 million (€308 million) in the 12-month period ended 30 September 2018. Metso says it will pay C$420 million (€279 million) when the deal closes with an additional profitability-based earn-out consideration of up to C$35 million (E23 million) for the two-year period after closing.
• Ohio Transmission Corp acquires Furey Filter & Pump and PSI Engineering
US industrial distributor and service provider Ohio Transmission Corporation (OTC) added Furey Filter & Pump Inc and its subsidiary PSI Engineering LLC to its pump, filtration, service and fabrication business. Founded in 1956 in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburb of Germantown, Furey Filter & Pump provides pumps, filtration, service and full-system engineering and fabrication, including certified welding capabilities. Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota headquartered PSI Engineering is a distributor of pumps, filters, mechanical seals and valves, and also offers repair services for fluid-handling equipment. Furey Filter & Pump and PSI Engineering will become a division of OTP Industrial Solutions, which provides technical sales and service for industrial automation, motion control, fluid power, pumps, spray finishing, sealant and adhesive application and power transmission systems and products. Earlier this year, US private equity firm Genstar Capital purchased OTC from Irving Place Capital, in partnership with management.
• StormwateRx joins Newterra portfolio
StormwateRx LLC, a Portland, Oregon-headquartered manufacturer of stormwater treatment systems, is now part of Canada’s Newterra Group Ltd. With its Clara, Aquip, Purus and Zinc-B-Gone products, StormwateRx offers passive, modular solutions to keep site water discharge quality within prescribed limits. Newterra specialises in modular treatment solutions for water, wastewater and groundwater. Stormwater treatment adds a new water treatment application to the Newterra portfolio.
• SDS buys Waterscan’s water recycling business
UK water infrastructure systems supplier SDS Ltd acquired Waterscan Ltd’s water recycling division including its commercial rainwater recycling business and Intellistorm smart rainwater management system. The deal will help accelerate the development of SDS’s sustainable water management technologies. SDS will take immediate responsibility for Waterscan’s current and planned rainwater recycling projects covering design, supply, installation and maintenance of commercial greywater and rainwater recycling systems.
• A review of first quarter 2019 filtration-related mergers and acquisitions is featured here.