Miter Brands' $3.1 billion acquisition of PGT Innovations Inc. topped the list of major plastics processing merger and acquisition deals in the first half of 2024.
Harrisburg, Pa.-based Miter, a vinyl and aluminum window and door manufacturer, was formed by the 2019 combination of MI Windows and Doors and Milgard. Miter was attracted to PGTI's complementary product mix and geographic presence, according to President and CEO Matt DeSoto.
PGTI generated record sales of $1.49 billion in 2022 for its vinyl and aluminum doors and windows, produced by about 5,500 employees at eight manufacturing sites. It has multiple locations in Florida along with sites in Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Clovis, Calif.
Miter acquired all outstanding shares of PGTI for $42 per share in cash. The purchase price represented a premium of 60 percent over PGTI's closing share price on Oct. 9, 2023, the last trading day prior to the public disclosure of the proposal.
Sale prices were disclosed in several other first-half deals. In a $350 million deal, plastics processor Myers Industries Inc. acquired Signature Systems Group LLC, a maker of composite mats and flooring based in Flower Mound, Texas.
Myers, based in Akron, Ohio, said the deal "bolsters [the firm's] margin and profitability profile and provides an attractive platform for continued growth." The acquisition will deliver $8 million in annualized operational and cost synergies by 2025.
Signature is a leading manufacturer and distributor of composite ground protection products and is also a leading provider of turf protection solutions for stadiums and event venues in North America. Signature's products are made from a combination of polyethylene resin and calcium carbonate. Its mats and flooring are made via compression molding, with a single sheet weighing as much as 1,000 pounds.
Recreational vehicle and manufactured housing component maker Patrick Industries Inc. paid $315 million to acquire thermoformer Sportech LLC, which makes cab components for powersports equipment and other vehicles. The move marks Patrick's intention to create a platform for powersports equipment the same way it did through acquisitions in the RV and marine industry processors previously.
Both Elkhart, Ind.-based Patrick and Elk River, Minn.-based Sportech have plastics capabilities. Patrick executives said they see the acquisition helping them expand into a fragmented powersports supply chain.
Little Rock, Ark.-based private investment firm Arcane Capital Partners spent more than $100 million to buy Gainesville, Texas-based conduit manufacturer Petroflex North America and Wichita, Kan.-based injection molder Wescon Plastics LLC.
Arcane has invested $200 million in acquisitions during the past two years and has acquired five companies since December 2021, including Prairie Grove, Ark.-based injection molder and extruder Poly-Tech Plastic Molding Inc.
Petroflex was No. 60 in the most recent Plastics News ranking of North American pipe, profile and tubing companies with $61.7 million in sales.
Before the acquisition, high density polyethylene extruder Petroflex was owned by Transition Capital Partners. Investment banking firm Stout and Mount Vernon Capital LLC advised Arcane on the transaction.
In an $80 million cash deal, Sonoco Products Co. sold its Protective Solutions unit to private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management LLC. Officials with Sonoco in Hartsville, S.C., said the Protective Solutions unit is "one of North America's premier manufacturers of molded expanded polypropylene and expanded polystyrene foam components." They added that the business serves automotive, powersports and other industrial end markets.
The unit employs 900 at nine plants and had sales of $170 million in 2023. Officials said the sale is "the result of Sonoco's continuing evaluation of its business portfolio and is consistent with its strategic and investment priorities."
That work continued in June as Sonoco put its ThermoSafe division up for sale to raise money to help offset the $3.9 billion cost to acquire Eviosys, a metal food can, ends and closures maker in Europe, from KPS Capital Partners.