Donaldson Co. announced plans to buy a majority stake in a company in the United Kingdom that makes fume-extraction equipment for use in industrial manufacturing processes.
Bloomington-based Donaldson expects to pay about $103 million for an 88 percent interest in BOFA International Ltd. The company, based in Poole, England, makes fume-extraction equipment and replacement filters that are used in laser, electronics, printing, 3-D printing and dental applications.
"BOFA's fume collection business will be an excellent complement to our global portfolio of filtration businesses," said Tod Carpenter, president and chief executive of Donaldson, in a statement. "The acquisition of BOFA aligns well with our strategy by growing our industrial air filtration business and diversifying our company through technology-led filtration solutions."
BOFA has 250 employees and expects to have annual sales this year of $40 million. BOFA sells its fume-extraction systems and replacement filters to original equipment manufacturers, distributors and end users.
The company was founded in 1987 as a small family business. Management and a private-equity investor led a buyout in 2015 that resulted in increased investment and growth in the past three years.
The addition of BOFA will extend the capabilities within Donaldson's industrial-products segment, which accounted for about 32 percent of the company's $2.7 billion in revenue last year.
"We are excited to leverage BOFA's high-quality products and strong customer relationships to expand into new industrial air-filtration markets and applications," said Jeff Spethmann, senior vice president of Donaldson's industrial products segment.
The last acquisition Donaldson made was Hy-Pro Filtration, a company based in Anderson, Ind., in May 2017.
Donaldson shares closed at $57.05 per share, down 14 cents per share on Tuesday. Year to date, Donaldson shares are up 16.6 percent. Over the last 52 weeks shares have traded in the range of $43.35 to $57.82 per share.
Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926
