Zeus Co. Inc., a medical extrusion and component maker, is being sold to a Sweden-based private equity firm for a reported $3.4 billion.
Stockholm-based EQT AB is purchasing the Orangeburg, S.C.-based company from the Tourville family. Zeus was founded in 1966 and specializes in tubing extrusion of fluoropolymers and other engineering resins for medical devices.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.
EQT and Zeus jointly announced the acquisition on Dec. 18.
"Zeus has gained significant momentum in recent years due to a strategic global expansion plan," President and CEO Steve Peterson said in a news release. "This acquisition accelerates that momentum and growth by supporting future expansion, new product innovation, process improvements, technological transformation and enhanced capabilities."
When the deal is complete, John Groetelaars, former CEO of Hillrom and EQT industrial adviser, will become executive chairman at Zeus.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Bloomberg News, quoting unnamed sources, said it was valued at about $3.4 billion including debt.
When Reuters reported in September that the Tourville family was exploring a sale, that story quoted sources who said Zeus had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of approximately $200 million. That would put the proposed sale to EQT at a multiple at 17-times EBITDA.
Frank Tourville Sr., who died in 2021, founded Zeus in Raritan, N.J. The company moved its headquarters to Orangeburg in 1989.
Today Zeus operates nine facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia with 2,400 employees.
The company has facilities in Orangeburg, Aiken, Columbia, Gaston and St. Matthews, S.C.; Branchburg, N.J.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; San Jose, Calif.; Guangzhou, China; and Letterkenny, Ireland. The company also expanded earlier this year, opening a new 75,600-square-foot plant in Arden Hills, Minn.
EQT will support Zeus in its plans to invest in additional capacity, R&D and operational advancements. Zeus will continue to partner with clients' research, development groups and new innovative technologies.
"EQT has tracked the medical device component industry closely for several years, and we believe Zeus is uniquely positioned within the end markets it serves due to its unmatched material science and process expertise," said Ethan Waxman, partner within EQT private equity's advisory team, in a news release.
"We are excited to partner with the company and invest in its next phase of growth, its employees and the communities it serves, while maintaining Frank Tourville Sr.'s values and commitment to excellence, which are shared by EQT," Waxman said.