Milacron, Negri Bossi deals took M&A spotlight in 2019

For plastics mergers and acquisitions, the second half of 2019 was highlighted by two major machinery deals.

In one blockbuster deal, Hillenbrand Inc. — the Batesville, Ind.-based parent company of compounding extruder maker Coperion and auxiliary equipment firms K-Tron and Rotex — acquired Milacron Holdings Corp. in a cash and stock deal valued at about $2 billion.

In the second, Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. bought Italian machinery maker Negri Bossi SpA. That move added large-tonnage injection molding machines and a greater geographic reach to its product line.

No purchase price was disclosed, and Negri Bossi has changed hands before. In 2014, another Italian plastics equipment major, Sacmi Group, sold the firm to Kingsbury Corp., a machinery firm based in Rush, N.Y.

For the Milacron and Hillenbrand deal, executives of both companies said one key area will be in extruders, making a combined, stronger and more diversified company. Both companies also generate about one-third of their machinery-related sales from aftermarket spare parts and service that brings in steadier sales than capital machinery.

In a recent interview with Plastics News, M&A veteran Phil Karig, managing director of Mathelin Bay Associates in St. Louis, said the Hillenbrand/Milacron deal could benefit both companies.

"The goal is to get as many slices of the market as you can," he said. "In this case, that means combining several brands."

When it comes to Nissei and its acquisition, adding Milan-based Negri Bossi brings it a company that posted sales of almost $105 million in 2018, but also reported a $2 million loss. The business employs about 350 across two manufacturing sites in Italy, one in India and one in China. Its range of injection molding machines of up to 7,000 metric tons outpaces Nissei's existing press range, which goes up to 1,300 tons.

In other top deals:

• North American rotational molding leader Tank Holding Corp. had an incredibly active 2019, making its fifth deal late in the year by acquiring Chem-Tainer Industries Inc. That deal gave Tank Holding a bigger share in the market for rotomolded chemical containers and moves the company into new markets.

Chem-Tainer generates an estimated $50 million in sales. Tank Holding already ranked as the largest North American rotomolder, according to Plastics News data, with 2018 sales of $282 million.

Chem-Tainer's rotomolded products include double wall containment tanks for holding chemicals, spill containment systems water tanks and septic tanks. The deal is the fifth acquisition in about a year by Tank Holding, which is owned by private equity firm Olympus Partners. In July, Tank Holding bought the assets of three U.S.-based plants from Mexico-based rotomolder Grupo Rotoplas SAB de CV.

• In a big-dollar deal in the pipe market, Hilliard, Ohio-based Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. purchased one of its strategic partners, Infiltrator Water Technologies LLC, in a $1.08 billion deal with the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

The acquisition lets plastic pipe maker ADS, which is focused on managing stormwater for commercial, residential, infrastructure and agricultural applications, expand into the related area of septic wastewater treatment with a long-time customer. Old Saybrook, Conn.-based Infiltrator posted sales of $275 million in 2018 for its plastic leach field chambers and septic tanks for mostly residential use.

• U.S. flexible liquid packaging specialist Liqui-Box shed part of its bag-in-box business to move forward with its $582 million acquisition of DS Smith plc's flexible packaging business. United Kingdom authorities required the sale of the bag-in-box business with U.K.-based customers before Liqui-Box could complete the purchase. Richmond, Va.-based Liqui-Box sold certain bag-in-box production equipment currently located in Wythenshawe, England, to Peak Packaging.

• Amcor plc sold three former Bemis production plants in the U.K. and Ireland to U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. for $394 million as part of the process to acquire Neenah, Wis.-based packaging giant Bemis Co. The divestment was required by the European Commission. The medical packaging business has annual sales of around $170 million.

• Arsenal Capital Partners struck two deals in the second half of the year. First it inked a deal to buy Seal for Life Industries LLC from Berry Global Group Inc. for $328 million, a Stadskanaal, Netherlands-based maker of plastic mesh to protect pipes from rocks during backfilling. Annual sales are about $120 million from operations in five countries with 380 employees.

New York-based Arsenal next bought a controlling stake in recycling firm Revolution Plastics of Little Rock, Ark., a move to provide growth capital to expand around the country. Revolution has made a name for itself in agricultural plastics recycling, and officials said that will remain a key focus.

• Tekni-Plex Inc. of Wayne, Pa., moved into the South American closure liner business by acquiring Geraldiscos of Brazil, a maker of closure liners and induction seals for both plastic and glass containers. Tekni-Plex also bought MMC Packaging Equipment Ltd., a Montreal area maker of automated cap lining, slitting and folding, assembling, closing and vision systems.

• Pexco LLC, the largest custom industrial extruder in North America, bought Bally, Pa.-based HPE Extrusion Solutions. HPE supplies complex shapes and sizes of tubes and rods for the HVAC, automotive and utility markets. Pexco's other second-half acquisition was a combined deal for American Extruded Plastics Inc. and American Injection Molding Inc., which operate from the same facility in Greensboro, N.C., as a part of a strategic growth plan.

• Motus Integrated Technologies, a supplier of door, console armrest and instrument panel trim components, agreed to acquire Janesville Fiber Solutions from Jason Industries Inc. for $85 million. JFS makes fiber insulation and has annual sales of about $144 million.

• In shapes distribution, Curbell Plastics Inc. grew through acquiring the plastics business of Great Lakes Plastic Co. Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y. A sales rep from Great Lakes Plastic will join Curbell, a shapes distributor based in neighboring Orchard Park. Curbell now has made seven acquisitions in the last seven years, including two in 2019. In August, the firm acquired Nationwide Plastics Inc., a full-service distributor with extensive plastic part fabrication and precision machining capabilities based in Arlington, Texas.

• Falcon Plastics, a custom injection molder based in Brookings, S.D., acquired Poly-Cast Inc., a custom molder in Tigard, Ore. Falcon Plastics officials said the acquisition enhances Falcon's injection molding business through extended service and product offerings.

• Huntsman Corp. agreed to buy polyurethane spray foam maker Icynene-Lapolla for $350M in cash. The deal expands Huntsman's footprint in the growing North American spray foam market. It also gains more spray foam technology to go with its Demilec business. Mississauga, Ontario-based Icynene-Lapolla has annual sales of around $230 million.