Carlisle buys EPS insulation maker Plasti-Fab for $259M

Building products maker Carlisle Cos. is buying expanded polystyrene insulation maker Plasti-Fab for $259.5 million in cash, a move Carlisle said will expand its retail channels and lead to cost savings by adding resin manufacturing capabilities.

Carlisle said adding Calgary, Alberta-based Plasti-Fab and its 11 EPS plants in Canada and the United States will save it $14 million over three years and expand its footprint in the $1.5 billion North American EPS insulation market. Carlisle's Insulfoam subsidiary makes EPS rigid foam insulation.

"The acquisition of Plasti-Fab delivers vertically integrated polystyrene capabilities to our Insulfoam EPS business while adding scale, supporting retail channel growth, and filling key geographic gaps in the U.S. and Canada," said Chris Koch, chair, president, and CEO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Carlisle, in an Oct. 17 announcement.

"This acquisition is consistent with Vision 2030 and our intent to build on our strategic pivot to a pure-play building products company with increased investment in innovation and a continued emphasis on synergistic M&A guided by our repeatable M&A model," Koch said.

The company said Plasti-Fab generated sales of $109 million in its most recent fiscal year, ending Aug. 31, and said the purchase price is a 6.7-times multiple of Plasti-Fab's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Carlisle is buying Plasti-Fab and its Insulspan business from private equity firm the Riverside Co., which bought PFB Corp. in 2021 for $142.7 million.

Riverside said in an Oct. 18 statement that the sale to Carlisle does not include all of its portfolio company PFB Corp. Riverside said it will retain its PFB Custom Homes Group subsidiary.

Carlisle said the purchase, which is expected to close later in 2024, will save it $14 million in its first three years because Plasti-Fab's EPS resin can be consumed across the combined EPS insulation manufacturing footprint of the two companies.

Carlisle, which reported $2.5 billion in sales company wide in the first six months of 2024, also said it was attracted to Plasti-Fab's experienced management team and "above market growth" in its EPS sector.

It said Plasti-Fab will support Carlisle's Weatherproofing Technologies unit.

Plasti-Fab makes roofing and wall panels, insulated concrete forms and geofoam blocks for infrastructure applications, as well as structural insulated panels.

Koch said Carlisle took the final step in its transition to a "pure play" building products company when it sold its former wire and cable business to Amphenol Corp. in January for $2.0 billion.