London private equity firm BC Partners has purchased Adams Manufacturing Corp., the largest U.S. manufacturer of outdoor resin furniture, in a deal announced Aug. 17 that will link it with another major consumer products maker.
BC Partners bought Adams Manufacturing from its founder, Bill Adams, and his family. Terms were not disclosed.
Adams CEO Tom Lombardo and the management team will remain with the maker of injection molded resin furniture, where they will continue to drive development of the company, BC Partners said.
Adams Manufacturing, based in Portersville, Pa., is a tiny hamlet off Interstate 79 between Butler and New Castle, Pa. The company employs about 250. Adams Manufacturing officials were not available for comment, but a 2014 story in Plastics News said the company then had 30 injection molding machines, 11 of which have clamping forces of 1,500 tons and larger. That included a 2,600-ton Milacron press molding chaise lounges. Sales were around $50 million at that time.
Adams will have common owners with another consumer products giant.
In 2016, BC Partners joined with a Canadian investment pension fund to buy Israeli housewares and consumer products molder Keter Group. Keter, which also makes a line of resin furniture, invested $36 million to open an injection molding plant in Belen, New Mexico, in 2017.
There are no plans to combine Adams Manufacturing and Keter in the near term, BC Partners said in a news release.
Adams' shareholders will reinvest a portion of the transaction proceeds into a stake in Keter, according to BC Partners.
In a statement, Bill Adams said, "We are grateful for what our wonderful associates have accomplished at Adams over the last 40 years. Partnering with Keter is a unique opportunity for Adams to accelerate its development. Today marks the beginning of a new era in the history of Adams and we are very excited about the prospects for both companies going forward."
Bill Adams was not available for additional comment.