Piovan buying industrial group IPEG for $125 million plus earnout

In a move designed to expand its offerings in the global auxiliary equipment market, Italy-based Piovan SpA is buying 100 per cent ownership of industrial group IPEG Inc.

The deal, which is expected to close in late January 2022, calls for an initial payment of approximately US$125 million and up to another US$22 million to be paid as a potential earnout in 2024 if EBITDA targets are met.

Headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pa., IPEG is comprised of four well-known plastics equipment brands: Conair Group, Thermalcare, Pelletron, and Republic Machine.

In a Dec. 13 news release, Piovan officials said the combined group will have a workforce of more than 1,800 employees and will operate 14 facilities worldwide, and would have generated pro-forma sales of over 450 million euros (on the basis of the results for the twelve months ended Sept. 30, 2021).

IPEG will become an indirect subsidiary of Piovan, and IPEG’s CEO Kirk Winstead and chief financial officer John Erkert will retain their positions.

The deal will allow Piovan to access what it calls a “formidable customer base” in North America, Piovan officials said in the release; and the acquisition of production capacity in India and the possibility to produce chillers in the U.S. will also allow it to accelerate some industrial plans, they said.

“The acquisition of such an important American player and the merger of two of the largest companies in the world in the field of industrial automation for the processing of virgin and recycled polymers and bioresins will allow us to achieve important growth opportunities on a global scale,” said Piovan Group CEO Filippo Zuppichin. “Moreover, it will allow a faster rollout to the American market of [our] proprietary technologies, particularly in the circular economy. We are convinced that this transaction will create great value for our shareholders.”

“We have known and respected the Piovan Group for decades,” Winstead said. “As we considered the future of the IPEG businesses, there were many compelling reasons to go forward with a ‘stronger together’ ownership structure. The strengths of the Piovan Group and IPEG are highly complementary and uniquely position the new group to leverage those strengths on a global basis.”