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Meridian Capital

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Diversified Industrials M&A Trends: Winter 2022

Published December 6, 2021

Home > M&A Trends > Diversified Industrials M&A Trends: Winter 2022

KEY INSIGHTS

  • Stretched supply chain and commodity shortages constrain manufacturing
  • Despite supply chain woes, industrial M&A activity continues at a frenzied pace
  • Labor shortage creates a unique M&A environment in industrial automation
  • Continued strong investor interest in industrial automation

With extreme port congestion and unprecedented lead times for raw materials, manufacturing activity has slowed in 3Q 2021, where the U.S. economy showed the lowest levels of growth in over a year.

In light of supply chain disruption, industrial manufacturing and distribution companies have continued to prioritize M&A strategies focused on near shoring and reshoring initiatives. In response to increased demand for their services, distributors of industrial automation equipment have been especially active in 2021, seeking to expand the scope of their technology offerings.

Many manufacturers, not expecting a near-term fix to the labor shortages, are investing in robotics and automation technologies to reduce labor requirements.

The industrial automation space continues to show responsive momentum, driven by a pandemic-fueled acceleration of e-commerce, multichannel distribution, the emergence of autonomous mobile robots for expedited delivery, and ongoing labor shortages.

View the Report

Diversified Industrials Market Insights

Stretched Supply Chain and Commodity Shortages Constrain Manufacturing

  • With extreme port congestion and unprecedented lead times for raw materials, manufacturing activity has slowed in 3Q 2021, where the U.S. economy showed the lowest levels of growth in over a year. 
  • Increased transportation costs, ongoing shipment delays, and continued strong demand has driven input cost inflation for raw materials to record levels, which creates inflationary pressures through the entire U.S. manufacturing supply chain. 
  • While businesses are still facing workforce shortages, especially for skilled labor, September and October saw an improvement with two consecutive months of employment growth.

Despite Supply Chain Woes, Industrial M&A Activity Continues at a Frenzied Pace

  • In light of supply chain disruption, industrial manufacturing and distribution companies have continued to prioritize M&A strategies focused on near shoring and reshoring initiatives.
  • With the looming threat of potential tax hikes driving increased interest in selling among middle market business owners, many industrial distributors have taken the opportunity to aggressively pursue consolidation strategies including in the waterworks, electrical, MRO, and automation sectors. 
  • Distributors have renewed their commitment to accelerating technology and warehouse automation in order to drive additional value and speed out of the portion of the supply chain in their control. 
  • In response to increased demand for their services, distributors of industrial automation equipment have been especially active in 2021, seeking to expand the scope of their technology offerings.

Labor Shortage Creates Unique M&A Environment in Industrial Automation

  • The continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains and ongoing labor shortages has driven increased inflation rates in 2021.
  • Many manufacturers, not expecting a near-term fix to the labor shortages, are investing in robotics and automation technologies to reduce labor requirements. 
  • As a result, M&A activity in the precision control and automation sector is booming as companies look to augment existing technologies and gain new capabilities.

Sources: St.Louis Federal Reserve, PitchBook, Meridian Research, NPR, IBIS World, Wall Street Journal

Industrial Production index measures real output of all U.S.-based manufacturing
The Producers Price Index measures the prices received for manufacturing outputs by U.S. producers

Diversified Industrials Middle Market M&A Activity

Recent Transaction Spotlights

Description: EFC International
is a value-added distributor of fasteners and specialized component solutions serving the automotive, industrial and distribution marketplaces.

Rationale:  New financial partner will help drive EFC International continued organic and inorganic market share growth strategy both domestically and abroad.

Description: Integro Technologies
is a vision integrator and inspection company. Integro Technologies develops turn-key productivity solutions through machine vision and robotics.

Rationale: The acquisition represents a strategic opportunity for Kaman Distribution to deepen its solution suite with expanded engineering expertise and services in machine vision.

Description: DWFritz Automation is a provider of precision metrology. The Company designs, builds and supports non-contact metrology solutions and automation systems.

Rationale: The acquisition allows Sandvik to continue to grow its offerings in the advanced manufacturing space with added industrial metrology products and services.

Industry Spotlight – Industrial Automation

Industrial Automation Growth Trends

Warehouse automation technology encompasses automation solutions to more efficiently and cost effectively perform repetitive and time-consuming tasks that are commonly performed by manual labor. Solutions include both software, such as warehouse management software, as well as hardware ranging from simple conveyors to complex robotic systems and artificial intelligence that can replace traditional human workflows.  

The Warehouse Automation market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14% between 2020 and 2026 with the global market expected to reach $69B by 2025.1 The continuous growth of the market has been driven by a pandemic-fueled acceleration of e-commerce,  multichannel distribution, the emergence of autonomous mobile robots for expedited delivery, and ongoing labor shortages.

Warehouse Automation

Global Warehouse Automation market is expected to reach $69 billion by 2025

Source: Modern Materials Handling
  • Automatic Guided Vehicles (“AGVs”) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (“AMRs”), guided vehicles used to transport goods through a facility, are expected to be the most widely adopted automation systems over the next five years. The AGV/AMR market is expected to reach $13.2B alone by 20262 and capture greater than 18% of the market share in the total warehouse automation market3. 
  • In addition to manufacturers, system integrators that can design and implement automation systems are expected to benefit from the growth trends as warehouses of varying sizes will look to efficiently integrate both hardware and software solutions. Integrators and distributors will play a critical role in facilitating broad adoption especially among small- to mid-size warehouse operations.
  • With the increasing adoption and complexity of automation systems, integrators can benefit from ongoing service, maintenance, and consulting offerings on the growing install base. In 2020, integrators generated $4.3B in aftermarket service revenues, which is expected to exceed $8B by 20254. Industrial automation integrators have seen continued consolidation in the space with broad investments across diverse applications and integrations to complement conventional automation systems5.

Notable Transactions

Public Diversified Industrials Metrics

Industrial Services

Company NameMarket CapEVLTM RevLTM EBITDAEV/LTM RevEV/LTM EBITDALTM Margin EBITDA52-Week Change
WM Intellectual Property Holdings (NYS: WM)$66,951.5$79,884.5$17,320.0$4,558.04.6x17.5x26.3%32.3%
Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS)$45,174.7$47,878.9$7,266.7$1,465.36.6x32.7x20.2%20.2%
Quanta Services (NYS: PWR)$17,071.4$18,573.2$11,968.9$1,056.71.6x17.6x8.8%82.9%
ADT (NYSE: ADT)$7,479.6$17,025.4$5,222.8$1,905.33.3x8.9x36.5%23.0%
Comfort Systems (NYS: FIX)$3,571.0$3,864.9$2,916.5$262.51.3x14.7x9.0%104.6%
ABM Industries (NYS: ABM)$3,212.8$3,514.4$6,017.6$314.50.6x11.2x5.2%20.0%
NV5 (NAS: NVEE)$1,716.0$1,785.2$663.7$63.32.7x28.2x9.5%82.5%
Median$7,479.6$17,025.4$6,017.6$1,056.72.7x17.5x9.5%32.3%
Average$20,739.6$24,646.6$7,339.5$1,375.12.9x18.7x16.5%52.2%

Industrial Distribution

Company NameMarket CapEVLTM RevLTM EBITDAEV/LTM RevEV/LTM EBITDALTM Margin EBITDA52-Week Change
Fastenal Company (NAS:FAST)$33,491.8$33,859.6$5,837.0$1,350.05.8x25.1x23.1%26.6%
W.W. Grainger. (NYS: GWW)$24,468.9$26,802.9$12,604.0$1,611.02.1x16.6x12.8%22.3%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NAS:JBHT)$20,448.3$21,218.4$11,409.0$1,481.11.9x14.3x13.0%56.6%
XPO Logistics (NYS:XPO)$9,128.7$13,275.7$18,436.0$1,555.00.7x8.5x8.4%37.7%
WESCO International (NYS: WCC)$6,853.2$11,601.7$17,494.4$870.10.7x13.3x5.0%143.5%
MSC Industrial Direct Co. (NYS: MSM)$4,743.1$5,549.9$3,243.2$371.71.7x14.9x11.5%9.5%
DNOW (NYS:DNOW)$1,042.6$762.6$1,519.0($25.0)0.5xnm-1.6%73.7%
MRC Global (NYS: MRC)$764.7$1,564.7$2,459.0$73.00.6x21.4x3.0%79.6%
Median$7,991.0$12,438.7$8,623.0$1,110.11.2x14.9x9.9%47.2%
Average$12,617.7$14,329.4$9,125.2$910.91.8x16.3x9.4%56.2%

Precision Manufacturing

Company NameMarket CapEVLTM RevLTM EBITDAEV/LTM RevEV/LTM EBITDALTM Margin EBITDA52-Week Change
Stryker Corporation (NYS: SYK)$103,948.5$113,960.5$16,669.0$3,170.06.8x35.9x19.0%17.6%
Illinois Tool Works (NYS: ITW)$73,275.5$78,840.5$14,251.0$3,957.05.5x19.9x27.8%9.1%
Emerson Electric Co. (NYS: EMR)$58,435.0$62,794.0$17,847.0$3,947.03.5x15.9x22.1%28.1%
Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYS: PH)$42,341.8$48,404.4$14,879.9$3,235.33.3x15.0x21.7%30.3%
Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR)$23,603.2$25,138.4$5,889.1$1,115.44.3x22.5x18.9%35.4%
Berry Global (NYSE: BERY)$9,082.7$18,452.7$13,189.0$2,105.01.4x8.8x16.0%32.2%
AptarGroup (NYSE: ATR)$8,599.7$9,681.3$3,162.6$575.23.1x16.8x18.2%6.1%
Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK)$2,503.0$2,561.6$1,270.5$137.22.0x18.7x10.8%23.9%
EnPro Industries (NYS: NPO)$2,162.1$2,380.6$1,137.0$170.22.1x14.0x15.0%55.5%
NN (NASDAQ: NNBR)$246.6$486.0$486.2$21.31.0x22.8x4.4%-8.6%
Median$16,343.0$21,795.6$9,539.1$1,610.23.2x17.8x18.6%26.0%
Average$32,419.8$36,270.0$8,878.1$1,843.43.3x19.0x17.4%23.0%

Industrial Technology

Company NameMarket CapEVLTM RevLTM EBITDAEV/LTM RevEV/LTM EBITDALTM Margin EBITDA52-Week Change
Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR)$215,337.7$239,661.7$28,065.0$9,384.08.5x25.5x33.4%28.9%
Siemens AG (ETR: SIE)$135,141.5$179,816.7$71,681.3$11,317.52.5x15.9x15.8%22.1%
ABB Asea Brown Boveri (NYS: ABB)$69,635.8$73,181.8$28,560.0$4,066.02.6x18.0x14.2%30.5%
Eaton Corporation PLC (NYS: ETN)$69,244.8$78,034.8$19,517.0$3,864.04.0x20.2x19.8%53.1%
Roper Technologies (NYSE: ROP)$51,529.4$59,506.0$6,274.0$2,332.09.5x25.5x37.2%25.2%
AMETEK (NYS: AME)$32,239.8$34,710.2$5,241.7$1,519.36.6x22.8x29.0%22.2%
Teledyne Technologies (NYS: TDY)$20,605.3$24,625.3$4,047.9$853.06.1x28.9x21.1%21.3%
Median$69,244.8$73,181.8$19,517.0$3,864.06.1x22.8x21.1%25.2%
Average$84,819.2$98,505.2$23,341.0$4,762.35.7x22.4x24.4%29.0%

Industrial Automation

Company NameMarket CapEVLTM RevLTM EBITDAEV/LTM RevEV/LTM EBITDALTM Margin EBITDA52-Week Change
Honeywell International (NAS:HON)$155,397.7$164,789.7$34,635.0$8,606.04.8x19.1x24.8%14.6%
Schneider Electric SE (PAR:SU)$99,505.3$113,224.1$32,612.5$6,089.13.5x18.6x18.7%26.6%
Rockwell Automation (NYS:ROK)$38,924.3$42,854.5$6,759.6$2,091.26.3x20.5x30.9%31.7%
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TKS:6503)$28,892.5$25,522.8$41,307.6$4,916.70.6x5.2x11.9%2.6%
Teradyne (NAS:TER)$23,454.7$22,355.9$3,576.8$1,275.16.3x17.5x35.6%41.7%
Omron Corporation (TKS:6645)$20,444.8$18,399.6$6,546.3$947.12.8x19.4x14.5%27.9%
Applied Industrial Technologies (NYS:AIT)$3,968.0$4,539.4$3,379.8$283.71.3x16.0x8.4%48.1%
Median$28,892.5$25,522.8$6,759.6$2,091.23.5x18.6x18.7%27.9%
Average$52,941.0$55,955.1$18,402.5$3,458.43.7x16.6x20.7%27.6%

Select Diversified Industrials M&A Transactions

Industrial Services

DateTarget Acquirer/Investor Description
Oct-21Paragon Energy SolutionsWindjammer CapitalProvider of parts and services for existing utility nuclear power generation facilities
Oct-21Howard AirService Champions (Odyssey Investment Partners)Provider of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services
Oct-21Integrated Power ServicesSearchlight Capital PartnersProvider of repair and maintenance services intended to serve the power generation, petrochemicals, metals, mining, and cement industries
Oct-21Frakes-PumpWorxFischer Process IndustriesProvider of primary pump and rotating equipment company
Oct-21AIR TECHNOLOGIESFidelity Building Services Group (Oaktree Capital Management)Provider of mechanical and HVAC services for commercial and industrial buildings
Sep-21Summit CompaniesBlackRockProvider of fire and life safety service and installation services designed to protect buildings, assets and people
Sep-21Sonic Systems InternationalBoyne Capital PartnersProvider of support services, reactor maintenance, and engineering management for commercial nuclear power companies
Sep-21Explosive ProfessionalsGroome Industrial Service Group (Argosy Private Equity)Provider of industrial cleaning services specializing in industrial and heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) cleaning
Aug-21Nelbud Services GroupHalton GroupProvider of commercial kitchen fire prevention and equipment maintenance services
Jul-21Capstone MechanicalReedy Industries (Audax Group)Operator of engineering, contracting and services company specializing in the fields of HAVC, refrigeration, plumbing, process heating and cooling

Distribution & Logistics

DateTarget Acquirer/Investor Description
Nov-21EFC InternationalFrontenac CompanyDistributor of automotive engineered fasteners
Nov-21BDP InternationalPSA International (Temasek Holdings)Provider of logistics and transportation services including export freight forwarding, import customs clearance, and regulatory compliance
Nov-21Steven EngineeringGraybar Electric CompanyDistributor of industrial controls and components
Oct-21Wimsatt Building MaterialsSRS Distribution (Berkshire Partners)Distributor of residential and commercial building products
Oct-21Integro TechnologiesKaman Distribution GroupProvider and distributor of machine vision and logistics solutions
Oct-21Mayer ElectricRexel (Brunswick Group)Distributor of electrical products and services
Oct-21Shaw Stainless & AlloyOlympic Steel (Copper Run Capital)Full-line distributor of stainless-steel sheet, pipe, tube, bar and angles
Oct-21MailenderImperial Dade (Bain Capital)National distributor of janitorial supplies and packaging
Oct-21Merfish UnitedReliance Steel & AluminumDistributor of carbon steel pipes, fittings and flanges
Sep-21Genesis SystemsFloworks International (Clearlake Capital Group)Distributor of industrial automation equipment intended for the energy, petrochemical and semiconductor industry
Sep-21CES Industrial Piping SupplyCore & MainDistributor of water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products
Sep-21Clausen Supply of IowaWinsupplyDistributor and supplier of HVAC and sheet metal fabrication products
Aug-21Eidemiller Precision MachiningKyowa IndustrialDistributor and supplier of precision machined parts and equipment
Jul-21GlobalTranz EnterprisesWorldwide Express Operations (Ridgemont Equity Partners)Developer of freight management services including predictive analytics for full truckload, supply chain management, and shipping services
Apr-21UPS FreightTFI InternationalProvider of logistics and delivery services

Precision Manufacturing

DateTarget Acquirer/Investor Description
Oct-21Rainier IndustriesLFM CapitalManufacturer of shade, shelter, and display solutions specializing in engineered, precision manufacturing capabilities
Oct-21Advanced Laser MachiningCGI Automated Manufacturing, (CORE Industrial Partners)Provider of metals-focused contract manufacturing services serving aerospace and defense, transportation and industrials markets
Oct-21Rexnord (PMC Business)Regal BeloitManufacturer of power transmission components
Oct-21CHawk Technology InternationalGraycliff PartnersManufacturer of precision plastic and metal components and assemblies
Sep-21Proto Machine WorksDeshazo LLCProvider of custom equipment designing and manufacturing services including custom-built machines with integration, servo motion, and vision systems
Sep-21Contour360Arch Global Precision (The Jordan Company)Manufacturer of solid engineered solid round cutting tools
Sep-21Superior Metal ProductsMidwest Growth PartnersManufacturer of machined components and assemblies
Aug-21Hannibal IndustriesNucorManufacturer of steel tube and material handling products
Aug-21CGI Automated ManufacturingCORE Industrial Partners(John May)Manufacturer of sheet metal production parts, assemblies and custom precision sheet metal fabrication services
Aug-21FTT ManufacturingFairchild Capital Partners (Weco Manufacturing)Provider of contract manufacturing service of precision machining, automation systems and assembly test components

Industrial Technology

DateTarget Acquirer/Investor Description
Oct-21DWFritz AutomationSandvikProvider of precision metrology, inspection and assembly solutions focused on advanced manufacturing
Oct-21Automated Control ConceptsSverica Capital ManagementProvider of system integration services for manufacturing and utility companies
Oct-21Farrar ScientificTrane TechnologiesManufacturer of ultra-low temperature refrigerator machines to pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications
Oct-21Colorado Automation & DesignTension Packaging & AutomationManufacturer of automation machinery catering to pharmacy, e-commerce, and energy industries
Sep-21SarcosRotor AcquisitionProvider and developer of robotics and microelectromechanical systems
Aug-21ATI Industrial AutomationNovantaDeveloper and manufacturer equipment and accessories catering to industrial and surgical robots
Aug-21American RoboticsOndas NetworksDeveloper of robotic systems designed to offer industrial drones for rugged and real-world environments
Jul-21Keystone Electrical ManufacturingClearSky (Comvest Partners)Manufacturer of control systems for electrical generation, transmission and distribution markets
Jun-21SystematixSamuel, Son & Co.Manufacturer of automation equipment intended for health science, transportation, and niche product sectors
May-21FLIR SystemsTeledyne TechnologiesDesigner, developer and distributor of imaging systems and detection technologies

Industrial Automation

DateTargetAcquirer/InvestorDescription
Sep-21Waypoint RoboticsLocus RoboticsProvider of industrial strength, autonomous, omnidirectional mobile robots
Sep-21House of DesignThomas H. Lee PartnersProvider of robotic automation systems and software
Sep-21Dynamic AutomationATC AutomationProvider of advanced automation solutions including advanced robotics & automation systems for handling, assembly, packaging and labeling
Sep-21Instrument AssociatesMotion & Control Enterprises (Frontenac Company)Distributor of instrumentation and process control products for hydraulic, pneumatic and electro-mechanical markets
Sep-21Ncc Automated SystemsATS Automation Tooling SystemsManufacturer of automation products and systems including pallet handling products, ophthalmic automation systems and packaging line integration
Sep-21Plex SystemsRockwell AutomationProvider of single-instance, multi tenant SaaS manufaccturing platform including advanced manufacturing execution systems
Aug-21JMP SolutionsCrestview PartnersProvider of turnkey engineering services intended to automate manufacturing, production and distribution facilities
Aug-21Advanced Dynamics CorporationEPIQ MachinerieManufacturer of custom heavy-duty material handling systems
Aug-21Rollon-iMSRollonDesigner and manufactureer of standard and custom machinery for the automation industry
Aug-21R.R. FloodyApplied Industrial TechnologiesProvider of automation products, services and engineered solutions focused on machine vision, mobile and collaborative robotics, and motion control
Aug-21Fetch RoboticsZebra TechnologiesManufacturer of on-demand Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for fulfillment / distribution centers and manufacturing facilities
Aug-21ASTI Mobile Robotics GroupABB Group (Keensight Capital)Manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots and software suite across all major applications
Jul-21Agilix SolutionsFrench Gerleman, IAC Supply SolutionsDistributors of electrical, industrial and automation products and services including industrial automation, electrical supply, and solar products
Jun-21BP ControlsHy-Tek Material Handling (Dunes Point Capital)Developer of industrial automation systems designed for warehouses and distribution centers
Jun-21Laveer EngineeringWestinghouse Electric (Brookfield Asset Management )Provider of custom tooling and automation services for the field execution organizations

 

Meridian Capital’s Team

Brian Murphy Photo
Brian Murphy
CEO, Managing Director
Aaron Franzheim Photo
Aaron Franzheim
Director

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