Publicly traded industrial products maker IDEX Corp. announced Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Mott Corp., a microfiltration business that designs and manufactures sintered porous metal components and solutions used in fluidic applications, for $1 billion in cash.
The net transaction value is $900 million after adjusting for the present value of tax benefits, which are expected to reach around $100 million, according to the Northbrook, Ill.-based buyer.
The purchase price represents 19 times Mott’s forecasted full year EBITDA this year and a mid-teens multiple based on forecasted EBITDA next year. The transaction is not expected to be accretive to earnings per share until 2026.
Worker-owned Mott has 500 employees, who will join IDEX’s health and science technologies segment. The target is anticipated to generate about $200 million of revenue this year with an EBITDA margin in the low 20s.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of this year if it clears regulators. The transaction will be funded through cash on hand, borrowings from IDEX’s current credit facility and potential debt issuance.
Sidley Austin represented IDEX including private equity partner Sara Garcia Duran and M&A partner Courtney Gilberg in Dallas and M&A senior managing associate Nicole Aiello Martinez in Chicago.
Garcia Duran has worked on IDEX deals before, including Iridian Spectral Technologies for $112 million (which was named among the Texas Lawbook’s top M&A deals of 2023); Muon Group from European private equity firm Robeson Capital in 2022 for $771.8 million; and Airtech Group in 2021 for $470 million.
Mott used Cooley partners Barbara Borden in San Diego and Miguel Vega in Boston and special counsel Heather Harrington in Boston.
Founded in 1959 in Farmington, Conn., Mott has solved highly complex engineering challenges by co-innovating with the world’s largest technical brands and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in dynamic markets including semiconductor, energy, water and space, IDEX said.
IDEX CEO and president Eric Ashleman said in a statement that Mott’s business fits IDEX’s “sweet spot” of highly engineered, configurable mission-critical components focused on scalable select applications.
“The addition of Mott represents an important step in our evolution, as we continue building our differentiated capabilities in applied materials technologies,” he said.
IDEX develops, designs and makes fluidics systems, optics systems, fire and rescue equipment and other engineered products. Among its offerings: Viking internal gear pumps, clamps that hold air bags in place, components used in DNA sequencing and the Hurst Jaws of Life rescue tools. It has 8,800 employees and manufacturing operations in more than 20 countries.