Onex buys KraussMaffei for US$730 million; KM relocates Netstal brand to Kentucky

Onex Corp., Canada’s largest buyout firm, has purchased processing machinery manufacturer KraussMaffei Group from Madison Capital Partners for US$730 million (€568 million).

Munich, Germany-based KraussMaffei manufactures machinery for the injection molding, extrusion and reaction process segments. It has approximately 4,000 employees and operates key manufacturing facilities in Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia and China. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2012, the company generated approximately €1.0 billion in revenues.

The deal is expected to close by March 2013.

“We’re very pleased to be partnering with Onex given its track record and experience in our industry,” commented Jan Siebert, Chief Executive Officer of KraussMaffei. “With Onex’ backing, we intend to strengthen our global presence and build on our success at the high-end of the industry.”

Toronto-based Onex is a conglomerate that typically buys leading companies and holds them for several years with intentions to sell them after their value has appreciated. The company has experience with plastics companies: it previously owned Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., and currently owns extrusion equipment supplier Davis-Standard LLC.

In an unrelated development, KraussMaffei has also announced the relocatoin of Netstal USA – the U.S. operation of Netstal-Maschinen AG – from from Devens, Mass., to its U.S. corporate headquarters in to Florence, Ky.

Products of all three brands – KraussMaffei, KraussMaffei Berstorff, and Netstal – will be sold under this single umbrella in future, although all three brands will continue to operate independently on the market. KraussMaffei said there were no plans to reduce the number of sales, service and parts personnel as part of the move.

In a statement, KraussMaffei Corp. president Paul Caprio said the company believes the move is in its customers’ advantage, “since you will be able in future to select the right product for you from the right brand and the right service from our extensive range of products and services corresponding to your needs.”