Piovan Buying IPEG as Global Auxiliaries Companies Combine

Piovan S.p.A. has purchased 100% of IPEG Inc., parent company of Conair, Thermal Care, Pelletron and Republic Machine.

The combined group of auxiliary equipment companies will have a workforce of more than 1800 employees and will operate 14 facilities worldwide. It would have generated pro-forma sales of more than $500 million (on the basis of the time period Sept. 2020-Sept. 2021).

The sale was reportedly announced at the opening of the stock market in Italy. The deal calls for a purchase price of $125 million, with an additional potential “earn out” of $22 million in 2024, should the acquired IPEG companies hit specified revenue targets over the 2021-2023 time period.

“We are particularly pleased and proud to combine our skills with those of the IPEG Group, creating the global leader in industrial automation in the plastics sector. Two years ahead of schedule, we have doubled our size since the year of the IPO and we are confidently prepared to meet future challenges and to take advantage of any further aggregation opportunities that may arise,” said Nicola Piovan, Executive Chairman of the Piovan Group, in a statement that appeared on the Piovan website.

Added Filippo Zuppichin, CEO Piovan Group, “The acquisition of such an important American player and the merger of two of the largest companies in the world in the field of industrial automation for the processing of virgin and recycled polymers and bioresins will allow us to achieve important growth opportunities on a global scale. It will also allow Piovan Group to access a formidable customer base in North America, with the possibility—thanks to the international set up of Piovan Group—to follow the investments of the main American multinational corporations in the world. Moreover, it will allow a faster rollout to the American market of the group's proprietary technologies particularly in the circular economy. We are convinced that this transaction will create great value for our shareholders.”

The new size will enable further growth in the area of the circular economy and investments in Industry 4.0.

Piovan bought auxiliary equipment machine maker Universal Dynamics in 2008, and blending and dosing company Doteco last year. Piovan and Una-Dyn operate out of Fredericksburg, Va.