Smiths Group boosts its heating and ventilation arm with deal for US-based Airbus supplier
Smiths Group will buy US engineering firm United Flexible to boost its heating and ventilation arm, the company said Thursday.
The deal values the Airbus supplier at $345m (£265m), which the British engineering group will pay through a mix of cash and bank loans.
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It will be added to Smiths Group’s flex-tek business area, increasing its aerospace and industrial operations, the company said.
The acquisition is expected to close in the early half of 2019 after regulatory clearance in the US.
United Flexible’s engineers work on the transfer of fluids and gases in industry and aerospace across four sites in the US and three in the Europe.
Smiths Group chief executive Andy Reynolds Smith said:
This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of high-grading the portfolio for growth, through organic and inorganic investment as well as active portfolio management.
Flex-tek has a track record of consistent delivery, underpinned by strong market positions and operational performance.
The acquisition of United Flexible will strengthen flex-tek’s position in aerospace and industrial end markets globally.
United Flexible is a high-quality growth business with complementary positions in industrial markets and on a number of growing aerospace platforms.
I am delighted to welcome the United Flexible team to Smiths Group.
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United Flexible is expected to have sales of $157m this year. It is currently owned by Arlington Capital Partners.
Smiths Group turned over £3.2bn in the last financial year, but its operating profits were hit by disruptions in its medical unit.